ERIC ED354153: Earth Systems Education: Origins and Opportunities. Science Education for Global Understanding. Second Edition.

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Earth Systems Education: Origins and Opportunities,
Science Education for Global Understanding. Second
Edition.

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Research Foundation.;
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.
National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.
92
63p.

Earth Systems Education Program, The Ohio State
University College of Education, 1945 North High
Street, Columbus, OH 43210 ($5 plus postage and
handl ing) .

Collected Works ~ General (020) — Guides -
Non-Classroom Use (055) - Reports - General (140)

MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.

Curriculum Design; Educational Strategies; Elementary
Secondary Education; Environmental Education; ''^Global
Approach; Integrated Activities; -'Science Course
Improvement Projects; ^'Science Curriculum; '''Science
Education; '"'Scientific Literacy; Teaching Methods
Earth; ^'Earth Systems Education

ABSTRACT

This publication introduces and provides a framework
for Earth Systems Education (ESE) , an e cort to establish within U.S.
schools more effective programs designed to increase the public's
understanding of the Earth system. The publication presents seven
"understandings" around which curriculum can be organized and
materials selected in a section describing the format of ESE. The
rationale for the ESE e^'fort, the need for this approach in the
nation's schools, some of the efforts underway and some of the
problems that can be foreseen in the implementation of an integrated
science curriculum based on ESE are discussed. The following projects
in ESE are described: (1) Program for Leadership in ESE (PLESE) ; (2)
Global Change Education; (3) Remote Sensing and On-Line Databases;
(4) Biological and Earth Systems Science (BES) ; (5) Global Change and
the Great Lakes; and (6) Earth Systems in the Middle School
Curriculum. Comprising half of the document is a collection of
journal articles relating to ESE: "Teaching from a Global Point of
View"; "Earth Appreciation"; "Earth-Systems Science"; "What Every
17-Year-Old Should Know about Planet Earth: The Report of a
Conference of EO.ucators and Geosci ent i s ts " ; "A Place for EE in the
Restructured Science Curriculum"; and "Down to Earth Biology."
(MCO)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
* from the original document.

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3 Earth Systems Education:
^ Origins and Opportunities

W Science Education for Global Understanding

ERIC

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

Victor J. Mayer

O JO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."'

The Ohio State University and
University of Northern Colorado

w ith support firom
The National Science Foundation

U S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OHire of Fducat-ona. Research and improvemrnt
F.DUCATIONAL RESOURCES f^FORMATION

CBNfTBR<2RICj
r>Jhis document has been reproduced as

received f/om the person ot organ.iatron

Originatiny ,t

r Minor Changes have been made to improvo
'ep'oduciion quality

• Poinis of v«ew Of opiiv'.ns srated m th.s docu
meni do not neceswriiy represent official

OERI positron Of policy

Second Edition 1992

© 1991

The Ohio State University Research Fotuidation

ERLC

Earth Systems Education:
Origins and Opportunities

Science Education for Global Understanding

Contents

Karth Systems Education... 5

an introduclion

Framework for Earth Systems Education 7

Earth Systems PMucation: Why and How 1 1
Projects in Earth Systems Education:

- Program for Leadership in Earth Systems Education (PLESE) 25

- Global Change Education 26

- Remote Sensing and On-Linc Databases 27

- Biological and Earth Systems Science (BES) 28

- Global Change and the GrciU Lakes 29

- Earth Systems in the Middle School Science Curriculum 30

Articles Relating to Earth Systems Education:

-Teaching from a Global Point of View 35
from The Science Teacher, Jiinuiiry 1990

- Eiirth Appreciation 40

from 'The Science Teacher, March 1989

- Eiirth-Systems Science 44

from The Science Teacher, January 1991

-What Every 17-YeiirOld Should Know About Planet 50
Earth: The Report of a Conference of Educators and
Gcoscientists

kom Science Educaiion 74(2): 155-165 (1990)

- A Place for EE in the Restructured Science Curriculum Gl

from Confronting Environmental Challenges
in a Changing World, 1 99 1

- Down to Earth Biology 64

iVom The American Biology Teacher, February 1992

ERLC

4

Program for Leadership in Earth Systems Education (PLESE)

Contributors

Coordinating Center:

♦Victor J. Mayer, Director
Department of Educational Studies
The Ohio Slate University

*Dan Jax, Associate Director
Bexley Junior High School
Bexley, OH

Joyce Meredith, Staff
The Ohio State University

William C. Steele, Staff
The Ohio Slate University

Maan Jiang, Staff

The Ohio State University

Eastern Regional Center:

*Rosanne W. Former, Director
School of Natural Resources
The Ohio State University

* Ronald Armstrong, Associate
Director

South Glens Falls Junior High Schcx)!
South Glens Falls, NY

*Shirley Brown, Consultant
Clinton Middle School
Columbus, OH

Richcird Pontius, Staff
The Ohio State University

Lorien Marshall, Staff
The Ohio State University

Western Regional Center:

♦William Hoyt, Director
Deparuncnt of Earth Science
University of Noithem Colorado
Greeley, CO

Ray Tschillai'd, Associate Director
University School
Department of Earth Science
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO

Project Evaluators:

Iris Weiss

Horizon Research, Inc.
Chapel Hill, NC

Sally Boyd

Horizon Research, Inc.
Chapel Hill, NC

Planning Committee:

* (also on planning committee)

Susan Humphris

Sea Education Association

V/oodsHole, MA

K. Lcc Shropshire
Department of Earth Science
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO

Lloyd H. Barrow

University of Missouri-Columbia

Columbia, MO

Mildred Graham
Georgia Slate University
Atlanta, GA

Jane N. Crowder
Issaquah Public Schools
Issaquah, WA

Edwin Shay

WorthingtonCity Schools
Worthington, OH

Gerald Krockover

Professor of Earth and Atmospheric

Science

Purdue University
West Lafayelie, IN

Arie Korporaal

Los Angeles County Office of

Education

Downy, CA

Advisory Committee:

John Carpenter, Chair
Professor of Geology
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

Bonnie Brunkhorst
National Science Teachers
Association

California State University
San Bemadino,CA

G. Brent Dalrymple
American Geophysical Union
U.S. Geological Survey
Menlo Park,CA

F. James Rutherford
American Association for the
Advancement of Science
Washington, IX^

Marilyn Suiter

Association for Women GcoscientisLs
American Geological Institute
Washington, IX:

Frank Watt-Ircton

National Earth Science Teachers

Association

American Geophysical Union
Washington, DC

Kenneth Wilson
Department of Physics
The Ohio Slate University

E>An Zen

Geological Society of America
The University of Maryland
College Park, MD

r

3

Earth Systems Education

an Introduction by Victor J. Mayer

1^ arth Systems Education (ESE) is an effort to establish
within the nation' s schools more effective programs designed
to increase the public's understanding of the Earth system in
which wc all live. Opportunities for resource development
and the environmental impacts of technical development call
for a well-informed public and science and technological
communities equipped tom.ake knowledgeable decisions for
the public welfare of cunrent and future generations. This
requires an understanding of the various Earth systems and
how they change through interactions with each other.

'Xbe ESE effort has grown out of the foment of
science curriculum concerns precipitated by international
comparisons of student and adult literacy and the lagging
American economic position relative to its foreign
competitors. Several large efforts such as Project 2()61 and
Scope, Sequence, and Coordination are seeking to restructure
American science education through various approaches.
1'heESEeffortisconsistcntwilhihoseapproaches. However,
in tlie short tenn, it is simply an effort to infuse modem
understaijdings of tiic Earth system into the science curricul um
K-12. In the long term, however, it has implications for a
complete restructuring of the science cunriculum with ilie
Earth system providing the Rkus. Those working on the
Earth Systems approach take the position that science is,
after all, our effort lo understand the planet on which wc live
and our relationship to its environment in space. Why then,
should not the nation's K-12sciencecurriculummoreclosely
rellcct that basic purpose of science, i.e., focus on the Earth
system as its subject?

'JPhis publication contains several related items. First
is the Fra/neworkfor Earth Systems Education that has been
developed over several years. It spells out seven

understandings around which curriculum can be organized
and materials selected. As you read it you will note that it
departs significantly from frameworks developed at the
nationaland state levels. Firstit is shortand easily "digested."
Second, it doesn't limit itself to the "traditional" science
understandings. There is also a place for the aesthetic and
creative aspects of science. Understanding one focuses on
those. The Framework also makes a strong statement about
personal resporsibility for the Earth system in Understanding
two. Thcsccondaniclc^EarthSystems: Why and How"" goes
into some depth on the rationale behind the ESE effort and
the need for this approach in the nation's schools. It also
summari/>es briefly some of the efforts underway and some
of the problems that can be foreseen in the .*mf lementation
of an integrated science curriculum based on Earth Systems
Education.

he next section of this publication has brief
descriptions of several projects tliat contribute to the ESE
effort. It is followed by several articles that have appeared
in The Science Teacher that discuss certain aspects of ESE
and provide hints and ideas for classroom activities and
resources.

hope that this publication will provide in-depth
information for those interested in Earth Systems Education
and a beginning for local, state and national development
efforts. We feel it has implications for all curriculum
restructuring efforts and would encourage those working
through Project 2061, Scope, Sequence, and Coordination
and other national, state and local level curriculum revisions
to consider incorporating aspects ofEarth Systems Education
into their work. Earth Systems Education: Origins and
Opportunities has been designed to assist such incorporation.

illustraiion by Nancy Baker-Cazan, 1990 PLESE Participanl

Framework for Earth Systems

Education

Baxikground

arc in an era of great concern regarding the
health of science education in our nation^s schools resulting
from a variety of national and international studies of Ameri-
can student and adult understanding of basic science concepts.
We are aJso being presented with almost daily reminders of
the results of abuse and neglect of our Earth systems such as
global warming, ozone depletion and problems of hazardous
waste disposal. Our continuing dependence on oil as an
energy source has worldwide political repercussions. All are
evidence of the general public's ambivalence toward science
and a lack of understandingof what science is telling usabout
the Earth system. Thus there is an immediate need to
restructure the sci-

Jn September 1985 a meeting of educators and
geoscientists, supported by agrantfiom theNational Science
Foundation (NSF), met at American Geological Institute
(AGI) hcaddquarters in Alexandria, Virginia ParticipanLs
concluded that the top priority for improving Earth systems
content in science curricula was the development of a K-12
syllabus. If endorsed by both the science and science educa-
tion communities, such a syllabus would have a positive
impact on textbooks, state and national tests, and curriculum
guides,

J§ cience educators and science agency representa-
tives at a scries

ence curriculum to
ensure that present
and future citizens
will be scientifically
literate — that they
will understand the
interrelationship be-
tween science, tech-
nology, and society
and the impact that
their actions have
upon our home, the Earth

^^There is an immediate need
to restructure the science curriculum
to ensure that present and future citizens
will be scientifically literate.

l^sponding to the concerns about the level of un-
derstanding of science in our schools and society are several
on-going curriculum renewal efforts including Project 2061
of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence and ihe Scope, Sequence and Coordination effort of the
National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA). Projecis
such as these have stimulated interest among science teach-
ers and adminisu-alors in re-examining what and how we
teach science. There is a concern, however, that current
efforts may focus too narrowly on the concepts and processes
of the u-adilional science disciplines of biology, chemistry
and physics and thus fail to effecti vely relate science concepts
and processes to the Earth system from which they arc
derived and within which they operate and interact. If that is
indeed the case such efforts may contribute to the continued
abuse and neglect of the planet Earth systems rather than
create the understanding of those systems which could lead
to informed political and economic decisions on the wise use
of resources of land, air and water.

of meetings licid
in Washington
D. C. during the
autumn of 1987
concluded that
the first step in
developing such
asyliabus was to
hold a confer-
— — - ence of eminent

geoscientists. A

conference was therefore scheduled for April, 1988. Partici-
pating scientists were identified from various agencies
including tiie National Aeronautics and Space Adminisfra-
tion (N \SA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), and the United Suites Geological
Survey (USGS) and from several academic institutions. An
equal number of educators representing elementary, middle
and high schools and local and sUitc school adminisu-ations
participated in the conference held in Washington and spon-
sored by AGI and NSTA with support from NSF. Conference
partic ipants identi fied com ponents of our c urrent knowledge
of planet Earth that should be included in K-12 cunicula.
This four an^ a half day conference focused on identifying
those goals and concepts about Planet Earth that every 17-
year old should know when completing pre-col lege education.

J)iscussions held with various scientists, teachers,
and science educators at meetings of the NSTA over the two
years following the conference resulted in the evolution of
the Earth Systems Education program and a proposal to the
NSF for support of The Program for Leadership in Earth

i

7

Systems Education (PLESE) which was funded in early
1990. The concepts and goals that resulted from the 1988
conference, along with an analysis of Earth systems concepts
from Project 206rs Science for Ai. nericans were com-
bined and submitted to the Planning Committee of PLESE
meeting at The Ohio State University in May, 1990. The
committee consists of ten individuals representing science
teachers, gcoscienlists and college science educators. The
major objective of this meeting was to develop a framework
to be used during the PLESE summer workshops as a basis for
developing syllabi and identifying teaching materials. The
result of this five day meeting is given in the following
Framework now being used as the conceptual basis for the
PLESE program and oilier efforts in Earth Systems Educa-
tion.

The Framework

Understanding #1 : Earth is unique, a planet of
rare beauty and great value.

• The beauty and value of Earth are expressed by and
for jKoplc through literature and the arts.

• Human appreciation of planet F^rtii is enhanced by
a better understanding of its subsystems.

• Humans mani fest their appreciation of Earth through
their responsible behavior and stewardshipof its subsystems.

Understanding #2: Himan activities, collective
and individual, conscious and inadvertent, are
seriously impacting planet Earth.

• Planet Earth is vulnerable and its resources are
limite^l and susceptible to overuse or misuse.

• Continued population growth accelerates the deple-
tion of natural resources and destruction of the environment,
including other species.

a When considering the use of natural resources,
humans first need to rethink their lifestyle, then reduce
consumption, then reuse and recycle.

• Byproducts of industrialization pollute the air, land
and water, and the effects may be global as well as near the
source.

• The better we understand Earth, the better we can
manage our resources and reduce our impact on the environ-
ment worldwide.

Understanding U3: The development of scientific
thinking and technology increases our ability to
understand and utilize Earth and space.

• Direct observation, simple tools and modem tech-
nology are used to create, test, and modify models and
theories that represent, explain, and predict changes in the
Earth system.

• Historical, descriptive, and empirical studies are
important methods of learning about Earth and space.

• Scientific study may lead to technological advances.

• Regardless of sophistication, technology cannot be
expected to solve all of our problems.

• The use of technology may have benefits as well as
unintended side effects.

Understanding #4: The Earth system is composed
of the interacting subsystems of water , land, ice,
air, and life.

• The subsystems arc continuously changing through
natural processes and cycles.

• The sun is the major source of energy that drives the
Earth system.

• Each component of Uie Earth system has character-
istic properties, sUucture and composition, which may be
changed by interactions of subsystems.

• Plate tectonics is a theory that explains how forces
and heat cause continual changes within Earth and on its
surface.

• Weathering, erosion and deposition continuously
reshape the surface of Eiirth.

• The presence of life affects the characteristics of
oilier systems.

Understanding #5: Planet Earth is more than 4
billion years old and its subsystems are continually
evolving.

• Earth *s cycles and natural processes take place over
time intervals ranging from fractions of seconds to billions of
years.

• Materials making up planet Earth have been re-
cycled many times.

• Fossils provide the evidence that life has evolved
interactively with Eartli through geologic time.

• Evolution is a theory that explains how life has
changed through time.

S

Understanding # J; Earth is a small subsystem of
a solar system within the vast and ancient universe .

• All malcricil in the universe, including living organ-
isms, appears lo be composed of the same elements and to
behave according to the same physical principles.

• All bodies in space, including Earth, are influenced
by forces acli ng throughout the solar system and the un iversc .

• Nine planets, including Earth, revolve around the
sun in nearly circular orbits.

• Eanh is a small planet, third from the sun in the only
system of planets definitely known to exist.

• The position and motions of Earth with respect to
the sun and moon determine seasons, cHmates, and lidaJ
changes.

• The rotation of Earth on its axis determines day and
night.

Understanding #7; There are many people with
careers that involve study of Earth* s origin, pro-
cesses, and evolution.

• Teachers, scicntisLsand technicians whostudy Eanh
are employed by businesses, industries, government agen-
cies, public and private institutions, and as independent
contractors.

• Careers in the sciences that study Earth may include
sample and data collection in the field and analyses and
experiments in the laboratory.

• Scientists from around the world coopciate and
collaborate using oral, written, and electronic means of
communication.

• Some scientists and technicians who study Earth
use their specialized understanding to locate resources or
predict changes in earth systems.

• Many people pursue avocations related to planet
Earth processes and materials.

System/Subsystem Defined

j^ny collection of things that have some influence on
one another and appear to constitute a unified whole can be
thought of as a system (AAAS, p. 123),... Any part of a
system may itself be considered as a system - a subsystem -
with its own internal parts and interactions (AAAS, p. 124).
Thus Earth can be considered a subsystem of the solar
system , or the atmosphere as a subsystem of the Earth system .

References

American Association fertile AdvanccmentofSciencc(l989).
Science For All Americans. Washington, D.C.: AAAS.

Mayer, Victor J. (1988). Earth System Education: A New
Persspective on Planet Earth and the Science Curriculum.
Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Research Foun-
dation.

Mayer, Victor J. and Annstrong, Ronald E. (1990). What
Every 17-year old should know aboutPlanet Earth: AReport
of a conference of educators and gcoscientists. Science
Education 74(2): 155-165(1990).

For more information contact: Program for Leadership in
Earth Systems Education, The Ohio Stale University,
059 Ramscyer Hall, 29 West Woodruff, Columbus, Ohio
43210.

June 5, 1990 Revised June 4, 1991.

iilustralion by Vicki Vaughan

ERLC

3

9

Earth Systems Education:
Why and Hou

Introduction

'Xhc sciencecdiK:aUon community has been confm^^
with an avalanche of studies and surveys seemingly
demonslraling the inadequacy of the nation's science
curriculum and how it is delivered. In the faccof the veritable
storm of concern that has arisen in the wake of these studies
several efforts arc now under\\'ay to radically change the
content and organization of the curriculum. They include
Project 2061 of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Scope, Sequence
and Coordination project of the National Science Teachers
Association (NSTA). A related effort is the Earth Systems
Education program centered at The Ohio Stale University
and tiie University of Northern Colorado. Its philosophy and
approach to science content is consistent with the larger and
better known national projccLs, but differs in significant
rcs[x^cts. A major difference is the focus on planet Earth as
the connecting subject of the science curriculum. This article
describes the rationale for Earth Systems Education, its
history and im[X)rtance, and implications for rcsciirch and
further development that have proceeded from initial
implementation efforts.

Science Literacy

^X^he many studies that have focused concern on our
science programs are similar in their sources of infonnation
and data. They include attempts at measuring science
understanding through paper and pencil tests, or in the case
of Jon Miller's studiesof adult literacy, telephone interviews.
The limitations of such information gailiering procedures for
identifying underlying understandings of science processes
a. id procedures are well documented in the science education
literature, especially those dealing with naive theories and
misconceptions. Caution should be exercised therefore in the
ready acceptance of such data as indicative of the failures of
the science curriculum and teaching methods.

Other types of infomiation that have been cited as
indicating deficiencies in our educational system include
those relating to our apparent declining position in the worid
economic community. Ifsuch a decline can indeed be linked
to failures in our educational system then there is some
substantial performance based evidence of the system's
failings. Again, one must exercise caution in the uncritical

acccpianceofsuchmcasurcs of educational success. However
one views the data cited in support of science education
deficiencies there is certainly need for the restructuring of a
system that hasn't changed appreciably in the last 100 years.

Earth **Literacy''

Performance based evidence of a nature similar to
that demonstrating our economic decline also occurs in
another realm; the prevailing economic and political
atmosphere which has resulted in the species-threatening
deterioration and resource depletion of otir Earth system. If
our science curriculum successfully prepares citizens to
understand science as a rational attempt to learn about our
planet and its environs, we should have Earth literate physical
scientists,engincers, economists, politicians and indastrialisis
who understand the relationships between the processes that
scientists have identified and which engineers have harnessed
for economic and defense purposes, and the Earth subsystem
from which they were derived. Can this be the case when
indusu*ialists, encouraged by their chemists and engineers,
until recently recommended the continued use of CFCs and
the growingandinefficientuscof fossil fuels? If our business
and political leaders were Earth literate and understood the

"...many of our leaders in science,
industry, and politics fail to
demonstrate by their
leadership actions an adequate
knowledge of the Earth system/^

relationship between species diversity and the well-being of
the biosphere with its implications for future human health
and long range economic well-being would we be destroying
the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest for short term
employment, economic and political benefits? Would our
politicians forsake long-range energy policies that would
reduce our dependence on oil with its implications for global
warming if not world political and "defense" relationships if
our political leadership were Earth literate? Not only are we

11

becoming a scientifically illiterate country, but even more
distressing isthatmany of our leaders in science, indusU^ and
p{)litics fail to demonstrate by their leadership actions an
adequate knowledge of the Earth system. They do not seem
to be **earili literate,"

The performance based type of evidence cited above
is supported by the various national and inicmational studies
of science achievement and adult scienlinc literacy. Jon
Miller (National Science Board, 1989), for example, found
that fully 63% of American adults believe that dinosaurs
cocx istal with early humans. Responding toanoLherquestion,
65% were confused as to the cause of day and night. Also
fully 54% believed that creationism was atlcastas scientifically
credible for explaining the origin of the human species as
evolution. That individual physical scientists can be Earth
illiterate is illustrated by an articlepublishedin5'r/i<?<9/5aVnre
(i/idA/a//u?mar£c.9 enti tied ''On Darw i n ' s Theory o fEvolut ion /'
in which the writer, a professor of physics, cites tiie typical
creationist arguments against evolutionary theory. He uses
the common creationist technique of citing out-of-contcxt,
partial quotes of scientists such as Gould and Eldrcdge in
questioning the theory of evolution (Aviczer, 1988).

No systematic daiii on Earth literacy have been
collected from our political leaders. However, the following
excerpt from Newsv^eek (p. 54, April 9, 1990) is revealing.
Vicc-PrCvSidcnt Quayle, who is also chairman of the National
vSpace Council, is quoted in response to the question, Why
send astronauts to Mars?:

We have seen pictures where there are canals, wc
Ixilieve, and water. If there's water, lliat mciins j
there's oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
brcailie. And therefore, from the infonnation we
have right now. Mars clearly offers the best
opportunity to sec if a man or a woman can be able
to survive on tliat planet.

Our nation's students arc equally as unprepared to
make decisions regarding Earth prcKcsses. Understanding of
Farih science concepts in the '\six nations study" completed
by the Educational Testing Service placed the United States
in a last place tie with Ireland with 61% of items answered
correctly (Uipointe et at, 1989). The summary of results
from the 1984 National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) indicated that whereas declines in other areas of
scicnceachievement of 1 7-year-olds may have been arrested,
problems in Earth science knowledge remained:

Mastery of biology items fell at the same rate as 1977,
although the decline is no longer statistically
significant Declines in physical science appear to

have Icvelcxl off, but Earth sciencxj and integrated
topics arc areits of concern; declines in both clusters
arestatisticallysignificant(Hueftlc,F<akow and Welch,
1983).

Analysis of the most recent NAEP results found nothing to
indicate a turn-around had occurred. In fact jxrformancc on
Earth science questions dropped another 4 or 5 ix^rceniage
points (Lapointe ct al., 1989).

Misrepresentation of the Nature
of Science in Curricula

istory of the development of our science
establishment is intimately intertwined wiili perceived needs
for military, defense and industrial applications. Funding for
research, whether from national treasuries or from industrial
pockets, has invariably txien tied to the demonstration of
short term benefits to the economy, defense, or international
status. This has had a major impact on the type of science that
has been conducted, not only in the United Slates but
throughout the worid. One result has been the emphasis upon
a deterministic and reductionist paradigm for science where
the isolation and study of specific utilitarian physical or
biological prcKcsscs has been the major goal of investigation.

^The commonly held image of science
therefore is that of
controlled laboratory experiments
conducted by a white balding
man wearing a white lab coat.

AlLhough the initial obscrvationanddescription of phenomena
has been fundamental in this process, the primary emphasis
ison the study of t'^cphenomcnathrough rigorously con trolled
experimental techni'iues. The relatively vast amount of
political and financial support available to this phase of
science has resulted in the historical and descriptive
methodologies being igno. ed and downgraded. They do not
produce the economic and military benefits of the ''hard"
science approach. ACtcr all, of what practical use is an
understanding of the evolution of trilobites or of the
development of conanents and ocean basins?

1

The commonly held image of science therefore is
tliat of cofilrollcd laboratory expcrinicnLs conducted by a
whitcbaldingmanwcaringawhitclabcoat Every componcnl
of this image is, of course, wrong. The most far reaching
impact of scientinc invesUgalion on oiir inlcllcciual and
cultural lives has Ixjcn the result of investigations using
hisiorical and dcscriptivemelhodologies. They includcamong
otliers the heliocentric solar system, the expanding universe,
organic evolution, deep time, plate tectonics, and most
recently, global climate change.

"W^ have inherited an ancient and
irrelevant high school science
curriculum. "

The science community is now in ^'cai flux because
of the rapidly emerging understiinding of the complexity of
Earth systems, The "hard" science approach alone is unable
to provide adequate insight into the complex processes of the
Eartii system. illusUBlingtliescverelimitationsof reductionist
sc ience for studying prcKCSses as tliey occur in the real world,
Chaos, a mathematical theory bom in the 1960\s in large part
from iidward Loren//s attempts to produce more accurate
weather forecasting models, has seized the maihematical and
science communities with what may become tJie major
scientific revolution of our time (Glcick, 1987). It has the
pt)wer to chanij.e how scientists view not only the world in
which we live but how wc think about it and how we
investigate it.

Chaos theory evolved out of historical-descriptive
science and mathematics, and until recently at least, has been
resisted by many of those committed to the U'aditionaJ
deterministic and reductionist approaches used in the physical
sciences. We sec in this development and the growing
acceptance of chaos theory the closing of a circle by the
"hard" scientists. Tlie linear approaches to science ihcy have
championed originally evolved out of the matrix of the
natural sciences. Now with their return to the non-linear real
world of the natural scientist they bring the mathematical
tools that can assist in providing a deeper understanding of
our Earth system.

Little of the excitement of science enters our
classrooms, and litUeof its fascinatingcompiexity as illustrated
by chaos theory, punctuated equilibrium, earthquake or
wcatherprediclion,orthc historical developmcntof continents
is afforded our brightest students. Instead, the nature of

science continues to be inaccurately portrayed in every
classroom in our country. Elementary, middle school and
high school studciits leain that unless a person docs
experiments sl)c is noJ a scientist Steven Gould commentc<i
on this deep seated bia: against the historical sciences in his
article, "Evolution and the Triumph of Homology, or Why
History Matters:"

Historical science is still widely misunderstood, under-
appreciated, or denigrated. Most children first meet
science in their formal education by learning about a
powerful mode of reasoning called **the scientific
method." Beyond a few platitudes about objectivity
i*nd willingness to change one*s mind, students learn
a restricted stereotype about observation,
simplification to tease apart controlling variables,
crucial experiment, and prediction with* repetition as
a test. These classic ''billiard ball" modes of simple
physical systems grant no uniqueness to lime and
object — indeed, ihey remove any special character as
aconfusing variable — lest repeatability unck^r common
conditions be compromised. Thus, when students
later confront history, where complex events occur
but once in deuiled glory , they can only conclude that
such a subject must be less than science. And when
they approach taxonomic diversity, or phylogenctic
history, or biogeography — \vherc experiment and
repetition have lim itcd appl icatio n to system s i n toto —
they can only conclude tliat something beneath science,
something merely '^descriptive," lies before them
(Gould, 1986).

The misrepresentation of science that pervades the
science curriculum bears bitter fruit in the misunderstanding
rampant among the American public of basic concepts such
as evolution and the lack of objectivity among the political
and business lc<tdership when confronted by issues such as
acid rain, global wanning or deforestation. An understanding
of these issues is dependent upon the historical or descriptive
methodology of science. An example of this lack of
understanding of the descriptive and historical sciences
occurmd recently when ihcPrcsidcnt'sChicf of Staff began
to question the mounting evidence for global warming. John
Sununu, u*ained as an engineer, called into question the
quality of that data by classifying scientists working on
global change with the pejorative (in his mind) label of
''environmentalists," and declared his intent to develop his
own global change model, thus, presumably, using the so-
called "hard" or linear sciences to "prove" the
^'environmentalists" wrong.

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13

Science Curriculum Ignores Plcuiet Earth

^^^c have inherited an ancient and irrelevant high
school science curriculum. Its influence has permeated into
the earlier grades negatively affecting the middle school
curriculum, which needs to prepare students for high school,
and the elementary school science curriculum, which of
course, needs to prepare students for the middle school.
Originally established by the Committee of Ten of the National
Education Association in 1893 as the college preparatory
curriculum in science, the so called "layer cake" of Physical
Geography, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics has over the
past 100 years changed in only one respect — tiie effective
elimination of the one layer that dealt in some respect
holistically with the Earth system — Physical Geography.
Despite the curriculum renewal effoas of the I960's the
essence of the science curriculum today is little different than
that established by the Committee of Ten in 1893. It is the
semblance of what science was in the latter 1 9th century with
a thick, almost impcneuable overlay of modem facts and
definitions, not atall appropriate for the economic, global and
environmental challenges facing our citizxnry today and in
the near future.

Is it any wonder therefore that our students and
citizens are ignorant of the planet on which they live? Iris
Weiss (1987) in her longitudinal studies of science teaching
has documented some of the problems in K-12 science
education. She found that only 15% of elementary teachers
were comfortable with their knowledge of Earth science,
while 27% were comfortable in life science knowledge, and
67% in mathematics. This is understandable because the
Weiss data also indicate that only 44% had completed one or
more college courses in Earth science, while 72% had
completed the same in physical science and 86% in life
sciences. Most elementary teachers will emphasize those
topics they understand. Therefore 1 iuie is taught in elementary
school about the Earth system or our relationships within it
and responsibilities toward it.

At the middle school level the situation is somewhat
better. About 70% of our children have the opportunity of
taking an Eart h science course during one of the three junior
high school years. Most of the remainder will take general
science which normally includes some Earth science content.
The quality of the Earth science taught in junior high school
comes into question, however, when examining the
preparation of the teachers of these courses. Sixty-three
percent had three or fewer courses in the Earth sciences
compared with the physical sciences, where only 15% had
taken three or fewer courses. Of the three science content
areas, junior high teachers are by far most poorly prepared in
the Earth sciences.

ERIC

The most serious problem, however, is in the senior
high school. According to Weiss' data less than three percent
of thenation'ssenior high school students have theopportunity
of taking a course in one of the Earth sciences. This might not
be a problem, if the concepts of the Earth sciences were
covered in the traditional physical science courses of chemistry
and physics. This would seem reasonable since Earth
science is often lumped in with the physical sciences, A
recent analysis of the most used textbooks in those subjects,
however, revealed that Chemistry, published by Heath in
1 987, had less than 25 pages of a total of 670 devoted in some
way to the mention of the Earth system. Chapters 1 'and 2
which dealt with water and energy did not contain a single
substantive reference to an Earth subsystem. Physics,
published by Merrill (1986) had only five pages of a total of
549 which dealt somehow with an Earth subsystem.
Conceptual Physics (Addison Wesley, 1 987) did much better,
but still only 26 pages of a total of 622 dealt with the Earth
system. If the topicsarenot covered in the textbook, then they
are mostlikely not being covered in the courses in physics and
chemisuy. Weiss' data (1987) indicates that 93% of all high
school science classes use a standard published textbook.
The 1986NAEP data (Horizon Research,Inc„ 1989) indicate
that in the 1 1th grade, 70% of the students reported reading
the textbook in class at least once a week, with 28% reporting
reading the book every day in class. When asked if they ever

^'Our future scientists, politicians^
economists and business leaders do not
have an opportunity, therefore, to take a
science course offered at the level of
sophistication appropriate for bright
high school students that would inform
them about the planet on which they
live.''

read articles about science in class, 39% said never, and 26%
said less than once a week. The most frequently reported
classroom activity was**solving science problems.** Seventy-
two percent reported doing this at least once a week with 30%
reporting doing it every day. This is probably "doing the
problems at the end of the chapter." Thus the available data
strongly suggest that at the senior high school level, the
textbook determines the curriculum, reinforcing the belief
that little is done at that level to acquaint our science students
with Earth system concepts and processes. Our future

lo

scientists, politicians, economists and business leaders do not
have an opportunity, therefore, to take a science course
offered at the level of sophistication appropriate for bright
high school students that would inform them about the planet
on which they live.

Earth Systems Education:
A Movement Towcmi Solution

incethecurriculumrevisionsofthelatc 1960's there
have been tremendous advances in the understanding of
planet Earth from the application of high technology in data
gathering by satcl lites and data processing by supercomputers.
As a result, Earth scientists are in the process of reinterpreting
the relationships between the various subdisciplines and their
mode of inquiry. These changes are documented in the
"Brctherton report," developed by a commiace of scientists
representing various government agencies with Earth science
research mandates (Earth System Sciences Committee, 1 988).
This reconceptualization of the process and goals for study of
planet Earth has been termed Earth System Science. It
provides a conceptual basis for rethinking, not only what
should be taught in traditional Earth science courses, but the
fabric and organization of the total K- 12 science cui riculum
as well.

The Earth System is a constantly changing entity.
Changes occur on two time scales. One set occurs on a scale
of millions of yc^s ai.d is illustrated by processes such as
plate tectonics and organic evolution. The other occurs on the
time scale of decades and centuries and is illustrated by global
warming and acid rain. These latter changes are dramatically

"Why shouldn^t the science curriculum

therefore be organized around the
subject of science^ the Earth system?"

influenced by the world's human population, an ever more
influential component of the biosphere. An understanding of
these short term global changes is essential for the health of
future generations of humans and of the planet as a whole.
Therefore there is a powerful case for making the Earth
system a central organizing theme for future K-12 science
curriculum development. There is another reason as well.
Science, after all , is fundamentally our attempt to understand
our habitat and how we came to be a part of it; in
other words, our attempt to understand our Earth system.

Why shouldn't the science curriculum therefore be
organb.ed around the subject of science, the Earth system?

Project 2061 is the major attempt thus far in laying
the basis for a reconceptualization of the content of the K- 12
science curriculum. Its report of Phase I (AAAS, 1989) has
heavily influenced the recently completedCa///brma
Framework (Science Curriculum Framework and Criteria
Committee, 1990) which is being considered as a possible
model of science cuiriculum by over 20 state departments of
education. Project2061 has also been adopted by tlicNSTA's
Scope, Sequence, and Coordination effort aimed at
restriicturing tiie nation's science curriculum. Phase I of
Project 2061 was being developed about the time of the
publication of the Brctherton report None of the scientists
working on that report were involved in Project 2061 . Little
of their iliinking about the nature of science and the planet that
is its most important subject is contained in Science for All
Americans nor, consequently, the California Framework. In
the minds of many, this failure to include a central role for
planet Earth is a serious omission from documents that may
very well determine the future shape and content of science
curriculum in this country.

"...this failure to include a central role
for planet Earth is a serious omission
from documents that may very well
determine the future shape and content
of science curriculum in this country."

When it became clear that curriculum restructuring
efforts might again ignore planet Earth and focus on the
delerm inisticandreductionistmodelofsc ience , a con fercnce
of geoscientists and educators was organiz^ed and took place
in Washington, EXT, during April, 1988. The forty scientists
and educators, including many scientists from the agencies
contributing to the Bretherton Report, met over a period of
five days. Through small group interaction techniques they
developed a preliminary framework cf four goals and ten
concepts from the Earth sciences that they felt every citizen
should understand (Mayer and Armstrong, 1990). Thecontcnt
of this framework was considered by the Projcct206l staff in
the development of their final report. Through the work of the
conference participants and subsequent discussions with
teachers and Earth science educators at regional and national
meetings of the NSTA, a new focus and philosophy for

15

science curriculum has emerged called Earth Systems
Education.

In Spring of 1990, the Teacher Enhancement
Program of the National Science Foundation awarded a grant
to The Ohio Slate University for the preparation of leadership
teams in Earth Systems Education— PLESE, the Program for
Leadership in Earth Systems Education. The objective of the
program is to infuse more content regarding the modem
understanding of planet Earth into the nation ' s K- 1 2 science
curricula. Over the four years of the gi .int some 60 teams, at
least one from each of the 50 states, will be prepared in the
philosophy of the program, gather curriculum resources, and
loam to organize and lead workshops. They will infuse Earth
systems concepts into their own curriculum and assist other
teachers K-12 in their states to do likewise.

^The objective of the program is to
infuse more content regarding the
modern understanding of planet Earth
into the nation^s K-II science
curricula/'

Inprcparation for this program, the PLESEplanning
committee comprised of ten teachers, curriculum specialists
and geoscientists, met in Columbus in May, 1 990, to develop
a conceptual framework. Preliminary work included the
analysis of the Project 2061 report for content relating to
Earth systems. This analysis combined with the results of the
April, 1988, conference was submitted to the committee.
Over a period of five dayr, the committee developed a
Framework for Earth Systems Education consisting of seven
understandings (see p. 7 ). These understandings provide a
basis for the PLESE team s to consu*uct a curriculum guide for
their areas of the country and for selection of existing
materials for implementing EariJi systems education in their
areas. Once prepared, teams conductEarth SystcmsEducation
workshops in their slates and locales.

The Eartli Systems Education Framework also has
implications for the nation's science curriculum. It departs
significantly from Project 2061 and the California Framework
in its rationale and its focus. The first understanding
emphasizes the aesthetic values of planet Earth as interpreted
in art, music and literature. It stresses the creativity in the
human spirit and how that creativity h'cS perceived and
represented the planet on which we live; a creativity that is

ERIC

also essential to the proper conduct of science. By focusing
on students' feelings toward the Earth systems, the way in
which they experience and interpret them, students are drawn
into a systematic study of their planet, i.e. science. By
bringing students' attitudes and feelings into the science
classroom, science becomes more fully and more accurately
a human endeavor, one that involves the total human being in
the study of planet Earth and its surroundings. Students are
able to draw upon a broad range of talents and interests; both
right brain as well as left.

The PLESE Planning Committee intentionally
arranged the understandings into a sequence realizing that
when numbers are applied priorities are implied. The first
two understandings are considered crucial to those which
follow and they depart mostdramatically from currentscience
curriculum recommendations. By taking the lead in the list
attention will be drawn to them. Learning aesthetic
appreciation of the planet, the first understanding of the
framework, through a variety of techniques and creative
activities leads the student naturally into a concern for the
proper stewardshipof its resources; thesecond understanding
of the framework. A developing concern for conserving the
economic and aesthetic resources of our planet leads naturally
into a desire to understand how the various subsystems
function and how we study those subsystems; the substance
of the next four understandings. The last understanding deals
with caix^ers and avocations in science bringing the focus
once again back to the immediate concerns and interests of the
student

Integrating the Science Curriculum

There seems to be sU'ong movement toward reducing
the emphasis upon the distinctions between the science
disciplines in the ongoing science curriculum renewal effort.
This is clearly the goal of Project 2061 recommendations
which arc most easily interpreted as a call for an integrated
science curriculum. It is also a reasonable extension of the
philosophy of the NSTA's Scope Sequence and Coordination
projects. Integrating the science curriculum has certainly
been a long term goal of the science education community.
Attempts such as the Unified Science movement during the
1960's and early 70's have all but vanished as the teachers
involved in the original development and implementation
efforts moved on to other efforts or retired. Even the attempts
of publishers to produce "integrated" elementary' science
curricula have ended up with simply units of Earth science,
blology,and physical sciencecomprising the typical textbook.

What all of the attempts to integrate the science
curriculum in the past have lacked was a conceptual focus.

The logical focus for a new inlcgraiion effort is the Earth
system. In essence, science is a study of planet Earth; our
attempt at understanding how we got here and how our
habitat works. What could be more natural than developing
a K-12 science curriculum using the subject of all science

^'Integrating the science curriculum has
certainly been a long term goal of the
science education community."

investigations — planet Earth — as the unifying theme? Any
physical, chemical, or biological process ihat citizens must
understand to be scientifically literate can and vShouId be
Uiught in the context from which the particular process was
laken for examination: its Earth subsystem. That is the
major implication for Earth Systems Education and its
impact on the nation's science curriculum reform efforts.

Earth Syste^ns Implementation Efforts

everal projects arc underway to lest aspects of Earth
Systems Education. The major one is the PLESE program
which is working with K- 12 teams of teachers from each of
the 50 states. Through a three-week ^ong summer workshop
the three- member teams develop a syllabus based uoon the
Earth Systems Framework. To do this, each state team selects
a topic within one of the Earth subsystems. The teams then
reassemble into grade level teams and develop a set of
questions for each of the seven understandings that arc
appropriate for students at their grade level. They do this with
reference to a scope and sequence grid having three
d imcnsions — atti tude, science methodology , and locale. Each
dimension takes into account the appropriate developmental
level of the student. Once the questions are identified foreach
of the grade levels, the teams reassemble

'The logical focus for a new integration
effort is the Earth system. "

into state K- 12 teams and refine and modify the questions to
assure articulation between grade levels. Then the second
phase begins: identifying fromexistingresourceslheactivities,
audio-visual resources, studentrcadings,andleacher resources
that can be use.' to address each of the questions on the
evolving syllabus. What results is a K- 12 resource guide for

each ofthe Earth subsystems. Eventually, these wilibeedited
and integrated into a single Earth Systems Syllabus, the final
step in the three year-long project. The immediate purpose of
the syllabus development is to provide teachers with a resource
of ideas for infusing Earth systems concepts throughout the
existing K-12 curriculum.

A second project testi ng aspects of the Earth S ystems
Education thrust is the development and implementation of
an integrated Biological and Earth Systems (BES) science
sequence for a central Ohio high school to replace the
traditional Earth science course at ninth grade and biology
for tenth grade students. The sequence, based on the Earth
Systems Framework and philosophy, is organized around
basic issues concerned with the Earth system, such as global
climate change and deforestation. The program incorporates
collaborative learning and problem solving techniques as
major instructional strategies. Current technology is also
integrated into the courses including the use of on-line and
CD-ROM data bases for accessing current scientific data for
use in course laboratory instruction. A whole series of issues
has arisen around the implementation of this course that
needs to be looked at through a rigorous research agenda.

Issues in the Development and
Implementation of
Earth Systems Eiducation

'3^here are several sets of issues that will affect the
developmentandimplemcntationofEarth Systems Education
in the nation's schools. The first relates to the nature of the
contentand what students know about Earth systems concepts.
The second relates to the implementation of any new
curriculum into the senior high school, especially one that
seeks to integrate the sciences.

An important rationale for including aesthetic
appreciation about planet Earth as the first understanding of
the Framework is that such a focus would stimulate greater
interestamong students in studying their habitat. Will a focus
on aesthetics indeed facilitate and improve learning about
Earth systems? How can a student's feelings aboutEartli and
Earth processes facilitate rather than block the development
of understanding of Earth processes? Can science teachers
effectively integraUi topics from art, literature and music into
their science curricula? What mechanisms can be developed
to coordinate instruction between humanities and the science
curricula of schools?

How can the historical and descriptive methodology
of science be effectively taught? Perhaps one of the reasons
it is not a more substantive part of the science curriculum is

17

that by its nature the thought processes involved are more
abstract and complex than those used in experimental science.
Variables cannot be isolated, therefore there has to be a
constant and concurrent consideration of all variables in
synthesizing and analyzing information. It is difficult for
students to collect the types ofdata that are used in historical
and descriptive studies. How can we engage young students
substantively therefore in a "minds-on" study of Earth
systems?

Most "hands-on" science curricula use activities in
which students collect data from simplified laboratory
experiments and try to approximate how a scientist would
analyze and cxirapolatc from that data. At bcstsuch activities
arc simulations of what a scientist docs. At worst they may
misrcprcscnf science and lead to a lack of understanding of
the nature of science. With the advent of computer and CD-
ROM technology, data banks are now being made available
to students that p^vidc real data about the Earth system.
There is now the potential for students to manipulate ihc same
data used by scientists with the analysis techniques also used
by scientists. Studentscan study the migration of whalc^' and
other species; predict the movement and effect of weather
systems; study the distribution of phyloplankton in the
oceans. This potential needs to be developed forihe science
classroom. Once developed such activities need to be studied
forlheir value in improving student understanding of science.

^^With the advent of computer and CD-
ROM technology, data banks are now
being made available to students that
provide real data about the Earth
system."

Understanding processes in the Earth system requires
some feeling for large quantities and a sense for the immense
stretches of deep time. How much is a million, whether it is
years, miles, or tons? Techniques need to be developed and
evaluated that lead toan understanding of such large numbers.
Little is done now in schools to establish such understanding.
Some teachers have their students count dots printed on
sheets of paper, posting tliem on the walls of the classroom.
By the time a million is reached they cover the classroom
walls. Are such techniques effective? Are there others that
could be used? What is the linkage between comprehension
of large numbers and understanding of theories such as
':vol ution and plate tectonics which depend upon long periods
of lime, or understanding our place in the solar system or
galaxy which involve great distances?

Oneof thcmajorthrustsinscience education research
is the identification of and strategies for overcoming naive
theories of natural processes held by students (Linn, 1987).
Most of the effort to dale has been in studying basic physical
science concepts, suchas mass, acceleration and light, isolated
from their Earth systems. Several researchers have looked at
asu-onomical concepts such as seasons. Earth's shape and the
moon'sshape. (SneiderandPulos, 1982; Trcagustand Smith,
1987; Brewer, Hendrich and Vosniadou, 1988; Vosniadou
and Brewer, 1987; Vosniadou, 1987; Nussbaum and Novak,
1976; Nussbaum, 1979; Klein, 1982; Mali and Howe, 1979;
Sadler, l987;Schoon, 1989). Few have looked at processes
and how they operate within an Earth system except for
se veral studies of weather concepts (Piaget, 1972; Zarour,
1976: Bar, 1983, 1987, 1989; Stcpans and Kuehn, 1988).

"Will students living in the shadow of a
mountain range have naive theories
concerning how mountains are
formed?"

Ver>' liulc has been done to identify misconceptions
of processes working within the lilhosphere or hydrosphere.
For concepts about our Earth system to function effectively
as a focus and structure for the science curriculurn, there
needs to be a major sustained effort at identifying such naive
theories about the Earth systems. There are some inU-iguing
possible variations from the studies dealing with basic physical
processes that result from the local and regional nature of
Earth science processes. Will students living in the shadow
of a mountain range have naive theories concerning how
mountains are formed? Will the naive theories differ with the
type of mountains found in the child's locality? Will they
have naive theories about severe storms? Will such ideas
differ among children living along the coast where hurricanes
occur and those living inland in areas frequented by tornadoes?
What strategies are effective in changing naive theories of
Earili system processes?

t here are a number of factors that affect the
implementation of any thoroughly new science curriculum,
especially at the high school level. One of the problems
associated with the implementation of the BES curriculum
has related to the Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Where
colleges and universities used to have an indirect influence on
the content and nature of the high school curriculum, that
influence has become direct and immediate through the
spread of Advanced Placement credit. Parents become
concerned that their children will not be able to take as many

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18

17

AP courses if an integrated curriculum, such as the BES
mentioned above, is implemented. In addition there is
concern that the new curriculum will not provide the
background necessary for successful pcrfonnance in the AP
science courses. As moreand more school districts implement
AP science courses in their attempt to provide**more rigorous"
science offerings their influence in dictating the nature of the
science curriculum will become pervasive. Yet there is no
body of research data on the effects of AP courses. Do they
facilitate students* entry to university preparatory programs
for science careers? Do AP students do as well in their first
college courses in the particular science discipline as those
who have not substituted AP credit for the introductory
course? If AP courses are to have such pervasive influence
on the nature of science taught in our high schools we must
have answers to questions such as these.

In an integrated curriculum, how is the talented
science student encouraged? High schools are beginning to
use versions of cooperative teaching methods. Can they be
defined so that they are effective in stimulating and
encouraging the talented student? The BES curriculum is
using collaborative learning approaches and a special elective
honors designation that integrates honors work within the
heterogeneous classes. How can suchan approach effectively
stimulate interest without seeming to be extra work or set the
honors students apart from the rest of the class in their own
attitudes and those of the other students?

An evergrowing deterrent to curriculum innovation
is the effect of standardized testing. In an effort to upgrade
education, most states are implementing some form of slate
level testing of students. This in addition to theever pervasive
SATs and other standardized testing programs discourages
efforts to suoslantially reduce the traditional emphasis upon
facts and definitions in the science cun'iculum. In fact it has
added to the problem. This negative impact of testing on
science programs is well documented in the literature. What
is the impact of testing on curriculum innovat 'on? Can tests
be developed that iire able to assess understanding of broad
concepts and problem solving abilities? Despite a great deal
of concern and emphasis on these questions over the past
decade, little of substance has emerged to guide test
development or use.

A variety of other questions have been with us over
the years but they become especially important if we are
indeed to substantially improve the content of the science
curriculum. What is an effective scheduling for science
courses? The prevailing pattern today is five 45 to 50 minute
periods per week. Should this pattern be changed? If so,
how? How can we reduce teacher loads? Most of our foreign
competitors, those we are being compared with in the
international studies of science education, teach 15 c!.^sses

per week rather than the 25 or more taught by American high
school teachers. I f we are i ndeed serious about fundamentally
restructuring the science curriculum, teachers must have time
to cooperatively update curriculum and leaching approaches.
They do not have that time now. No wonder they simply take
the next chapter in the text and use that to guide instruction.

^^An ever growing deterrent to
curriculum innovation is the effect of
standardized testing. "

Why has it been so difficult to sustain integrated
science curricula implemented in our schools? One of the
major problems is the science background of our teachers.
NSTA certification requirements essentially include a major
in one of the disciplines, biology for biology teachers,
chemisu^ or physics for physical science teachers. In most
universities the courses included for the teaching major are
the same as those for the major in the discipline. Thus
teachers become biologists or chemists or physicists. They
do not perceive science as a single discipline. When
implementing curriculum in the secondary schools they
retain a loyalty to their discipline. They don't feel comfortable
teaching concepts they consider to be outside their particular
discipline. This is no doubt one of the reasons that so little
from Earth systems is taught in chemistry or physics courses.
For the nev/ sciei ice curricul urn restructuring efforts to succeed
we will have to restructure the science required in the
preparation of science teachers.

"For the new science curriculum
restructuring efforts to succeed we will
have to restructure the science r equired
in the preparation of science teachers."

Efforts need to be directed the development of a
unified set of courses at the universit; level that would be the
common ground for the preparation of high school science
teachers in the discipline of science. In such courses, the
Earth system will need to be an integral part, if not the central
theme. To do this, university science faculties will need to
rethink their discipline's role in the total fabric of science and
the CO! xibutions it can make to an integrated science course

1

19

sequence that will need to constitute the core of the science
taken by pre-scrvice teachers. To accommodate these changes
in teacher preparation programs certification requirements
("or science teachers will have to be changed. Careful thought
should be given to the development ofcertificaiion standards
for a single science program that will accommodate all
secondary school science teachers and will reinforce the
trend toward the teaching of integrated science.

r-inally, die issue tliat underlies all oiJicrs is how to
make available a sufficient resource base to solve the various
problems in science education and education generally. We
as a nation currently rank 1 Oih out of 1 5 industrialized nations
in the percent of Gross National Prcxiuct we spend on
education, Yet our political, industrial and business leaders
are saying that wc already are spending all tlic money needed
lor an effective educatio[i. How do we re((x:us the national
debate? How can we convince our opinion leaders and our
average citizens that additional resources must be made
available if wc arc ever to reach the national objcciives for
science eojcation stated recently by our governors and tlie
national administration?

Conclusion

'X^he lime appears to he ripe for the first total
rcsuuciuring of the science curriculum since tlic Connniiicc
olTen established the current high school sequence in the late
lK(K)'s. The dramatic changes tiiat have taken place in
science and in the understanding of how science is learned,
and the evolving demands of technology and the pressures it
places on our environment require tiiis restructuring, Wc
must develop a ciii/.enry and a cadre of leaders who are
comfortable with science and knowledgeable about the role
it plays in understanding our Earth system. They need lo
understand the applications of science in technology and the
role technology plays in our society, in science and in
cbianging our Earth systems. Earth Systems Education offers
an effective approach for reaching the: e objcciives. Asa first
step it provides for infusing planet Earth concepts into all
levels of the K-12 science curricu'um. For the long run it
provides an organizing theme for f K-12 integrated science
curriculum that could effectively ser\'e the objectives of
scieniific literacy and at the same time provide a basis for the
recruitment of talent into science and technology careers
helping to ensure appropriate economic development
consistent witli maintaining a quality environment.

References

Aviezer, Nathan, (1988). On Darwin's theory of evolution.
School Science and Matfieniatics, Vol 88(7), p. 565-568.

American Association forihe Advanccmentof Science(l 989).
Science for All Americans. Washington. DC: AAAS.

Biir, V. (1989). Children's views about the water cycle.
Science Education, 73(4):48l-5()0.

Brewer, W.F., Hendnch, D.J., and Vosniadou, S. (1988). A
crossculluralstudyofchildren'sdevelopmeniofcosmological
models. In D. Topping, V. K.obsyski,and D. Crowell (Eds.),
Thinking: The Tfurdlniernaiional Conference. Hillsdale, N.J. :
Erlbaum.

Brush, Stephen G. (1974), Should the history of science be
rated X? Science. 185: 1164-1172.

Eariii System Science Commiiiee, (1988). Earth System
Science. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space
Adminisu^ation,

G 1 e ick , J a mcs (1987), Chaos : M akin $^ a new science. N e w
York: Penguin Books, Inc.

Gould, Stephen J. (1986). Evolution and the triumph of
homology, or why history matters. American Scientist, 74:
6()-69.

Hanns, Norris. C. and Yager, Robert E, (Editors) (1981).
What research says to the science teacher (VoL 3: Project
Synthesis). Washington, DC: National Science Teachers
Association.

Heufile, Stacey J., Rakow, Steven J., and Welch, Wayne W,
(19^3). Inui^es of Science. Minneapolis, MN: Minncsoti!
Research and Evaluation Center.

Horizon Rese;irch,lnc,(l989). The Science and Mathematics
Briefing Book. Washington, DC: National Science Teachers
Association.

Hurd, Paul D. (1986). Perspectives for the reform of science
education. Phi Delta Kappan, Junwdry: 353-358.

Klein, C.A. (1982), Children's concepts of the earth and tlie
sun: A cross culture study. Science Education, bSiiy.GS-lOl .

Upointe,A.,Mcad,N,A.,andPhillips,G.W.(1989). A World
of Differences: An International Assessment of Mathematics
and Science. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

20

Linn, Marcia C. (1987). Establishing a research base for
science education: Challenges, trends, and recommendations.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24(3): 191-216.

Mali, G.B. and Howe, A. (1979) Development of Earth and
gravity concepts among ?^epali children. Sc/e/ice Education y
63(5): 685-691.

Mayer, Victor J. and Armstrong, Ronald E. (1990). What
every 1 7-ycar old should know about Planet Eanli: The report
of a conference of educators and geoscientists. Science
Education. 74(2): 155-165.

Mullis, Ina V.S. and Jenkins, Lynn B. (1988). The Science
Report Card. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Naiional Science Board, (1989). Science and Engineering
Indicators— 1 989. Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, NSF 89-1.

Nussbaum, J. (1979). Children's conceptions of the earth as
a cosmic body: A cross age study. Science Education,
63(l):83-93.

Nussbaum, J. and Novak, J. (1976). An assessment of
childrcn'sconcepLsof thecarth utilizing structured interviews.
Science Education, 6()(4):535-550.

Piagct, J, (1972). The Child's Conception of Physical
CaiLUility. Translated by Marjorie Gabain Totowa, NJ:
Littlefield, Adams.

Sadler, P.M. ( 1987). Misconceptions in astronomy. In Novak,
J.D. (Ed.) Proceedings of the second international seminar
on misconceptions and educational strategies in science and
mathematics, vol. IIL Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Schoon, K.J. (1989). Misconceptions in Earth Science: a
cross-age study. Papcrprcscnted at the second annual meeting
ofthe National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
San Francisco, CA.

Science Curriculum Framework and Criteria Committee
(1990). Science Framewrvrk. Sacramento, C A: California
Department of Education.

Sneider,C.,and PuIos,S.(1983). Children's cosmographies:
Understanding the Earth's shape and gravity. Science
Education. 61 {2):205-22\.

Stepans, J. and Kuehn, C. (1987). Children's conceptions of
weather. Science and Children, 23(l):44-47.

Treagust. D.F. and Smith, C.F. (1989). Secondary students'
understanding of gravity and the motion of planets. School
Science and Mathematics, 89(5):380-39 1 .

Vosniadou, S. (1987). Children's acquisition and
reconstructing of science knowledge. Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, Washington, D.C. ED 316408.

Vosniadou , S . and B rewer, W. ( 1 987). Theories of knowledge
restructuring in development. Review of Educational
Research, 57(l):51-67.

Weiss , Iris R. (1987). Report ofthe 1 985-86 National Survey
of Science and Mathematics Education. Research Triangle
Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute.

Welch , Wayne W. ( 1 979). Twen ty years of science curriculum
development: A look backward. In D. Berliner (Ed.), /?cv<>'v
of Research in Education (Vol. 2, pp. 282-306). Washington,
DC: American Educational Research Association.

Zarour, G.I. ( 1976). Interprelalion of natural phenomena by
Lebanese school chi Idren. Science Ed ucation,&^2)'.211 -287.

illusiraiion by C. Uavcl

2ij

21

Projects in
Earth Systems Education

• Progmm for Leadership in BartlT Systems Education (PLESE)

• Global Change Education

Scanulary Science Curricidian M(uli(ics for Global Chani^c Educalion: a Progress Report

• Remote Sensing and On-Line Databases

Usifiii Rctnoie Sensini> and On-lAne duiahases for Teaching About Global Clian^c

• Biological and Earth Systems Science (BES)

• Global Change and the Great Lakes

Global Chanj^e Scenarios for the Great Uikcs Rei^ion
Ohio Sea Grant

• Earth Systems in the Middle School Science Curriculum

ERLC

PLESE

Program for Leadership

in Earth Systems Education
(PLESE)

Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, PLESE will prepare over 60 team of
school teachers to become leaders in Earth Systems Education over the three-year period 1990-
1992.

The Teams

Project PLESE ai ms to reach teachers through
teachers. Participants arc selected as teams consisting
of a high school science teacher, a middle school
teacher (usually an earth science teacher), and an upper
elementary teacher. The teachers are usually from the
same local area but different school districts. All three
attend a three-week summer leadership workshop in
which they prepare lobecome leaders in Earth Systems
I^ducation.

A school administrator and a faculty pci'son
from a nearby college or university also seive on ihc
teaching team and attend a two-day session during the
last week of the workshop.

The Workshops

PLESE leaching teams prepare to become
leaders in Earth Systems Education in the three-week
summer leadership workshop by

• learning about changes in the Earth
Systems from leading scientists involved
in global change research,

• using a K-12 Earth Systems
Framework to identify and develop
instructional materials about Planet
Earth,

• planning to lead local Earth Systems
Education workshops in the coming
school year.

The Locations

The national coordinating center and the
eastern program center for PLESE are located at The
Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The eastern
center will serve teacher teams from the Nort.icastem
Slates in 1991 and the Southeastern slates in 1992.

Located at the University of Northern
Colorado, the western program center will serve *Jie
Pacillc Coast and Mountain states in 1991 and the
Midcontincnl states in 1992.

The Benefits

PLESE teacher participants receive a stipend,
travel, food imd lodging expenses, and graduate credit
for successful completion of the prognim, as well as the
satisfaction of presenting at least two local or state
workshops in the following school year! They are kept
up-to-date through the project newsletter, PLESE
Note, and an electronic bulletin board system.

College and administrator liaisons receive
travel, food, and lodging for attendance at a two-day
meeting during the summer workshop.

ERLC

For more information, contact PLESE at The Ohio State University, 059 Ramseyer
Hall 29 West Woodrtiff, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Phone (614) 292-7888.

25

Secondary Science Curriculum Modules For

Global Change Education

A Progress Report

Funded by the Natioml Science Foundation, the global change activity project seeks to
develop classroom activities and fact sheets about global change topics for infusion into the
high school science curriculum.

A comprchcrLsivc search of curriculum materi-
als designed for high school science classes conducted
for the Program for Leadership in Earth Syster :s Edu-
cation (PLESE) has demonstrated a lack of teaching
materials dealing with the Eartii as a system. This is
especially true for physics and chemistry classes. The
activities and fact shecLs being developed by the glob:U
change activity project are designed to help fill this
gap. They include the appropriate science content
along with a focus on the Earth as a system.

Global change activity topics include, but are
not limited to: greenhouse effect and global wanning,
o/.one, deforestation and effects on biodiversity, El
Nino^desertification, remote sensing, climatemodeling,
earthquake prediction, volcanic eruptions, acid rain,
and proxy data for global climate change. The impact
of technology on the study of the Earth and on the
dissemination of information about the Earth is also
included.

The global ch^uige activity project has included
input from science teachers, university educators, and
scientists of varied disciplines. They have had the
opportunity to interact in a series of seminars held at
Tlie Ohio State University beginning in spring, 1989.
The information from llie scientists and from other
original sources helped teachers generate ideas for
global change activities appropriate for secondary sci-
ence classrooms. These ideas and others are being
developed into several modules.

Draft copies of activities on global climate
warming and climate information contained in icecorcs
are currently being pilot tested in some central Ohio
high schools. These activities will be revised and put
into final form for dissemination.

The activities will be accompanied by fact
sheets that provide background information on global
change topics . The fact sheets can also be used indepx^n-
dently of the activities. They will cover topics listed
above.

For additional information, contact Victor J. Mayer, or Ros^ne W. Fortner,
The Ohio State University, Department of Educational Studies, 249 Arps
Hall, 1945 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43210

26

ERIC

Global Change Technologies

Using Remote Sensing and On-Line Databases for Teaching About Global Change

lids project used classroom computers arid peripherals to study environmental sciences with
original data sources and versatile software. The project was supported by the Ohio Board of
Regents with funds from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Math and Science Education Act, from
October 1989 through April 1991,

Classroom computers are too often
underutilized for che contributions they can make
10 studies of the earth system. This technology
project helped teachers explore the tools
available to them and become more aware of the
potential of existing hardware and software to
opLMi the "real" world of science to students.

The project brought teachers from the
Worthington (OH) City Sch(X)ls and others in
central Ohio together with scientists who were
using various forms of remote sensing,
geographic information systems, proxy data,
and on-line databases to study interacting
components of the earth system. A global
change education seminar was presented by the
scientists, followed by sessions to help teachers
identify appropriate technologies for their own
chissroonis.

Supervised curriculum development
lollowed, resulting in fact sheets introducing the
technologies and how to apply them, plus some
activities demonstrating technology as a tool for
understanding global change. These materials
are being finali/ed for distribution. They include
information on

• How lo access databases on earthquakes,
activities of NASA, and environmental
infonnalion,

• Student activities using HyperCard for
classification, data sharing, and charting
relationships among earth systems;

• Use of commercial software for unique global
change activities and for standard science topics;

• Infomiation on how to obtain and use data from
sources such as the Christmas Bird Count, water
monitoring programs, CD-ROMs, and climate
databases;

• Listing of pertinent government CDs and data
sets;

% Descriptions of commercial software adaptable
for learning about global change;

• Suggestions for use and interpretation of
satellite imagei^;

• Examples of how time series data helps to
identify u-ends in global environmental change;

• Sources of "hard copy" data for use in
consu-Liction of databases or as a substitute for
computerized versions.

The project has been closely linked to others in
Ohio State University's School of Natural
Resources and College of Education: an NSF
project to develop global change activities for
secondary science, the NSF-supported Program
for Leadership in Earth Systems
Education (PLESE), and development of an
innovative Biological and Earth Systems
course at Worthington High Schcx^l. Products of
this project are in use by the other projects.

Our hope is that interest among teachers will
enable project st^ff to continue adding to the set of
materials for use in teacher education. Comments
and suggestions are welcome.

For additional information^ contact Rosanne W. Fortner at The Ohio State
University, School of Natural Resources, 2021 Cojfey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210.

Phone (614) 292 9826

27

Biological and
Earth Systems Science (BES)

Worthington (OH) High School

Over the past several years the seience teachers ofWorihiu^ton Hi^h Sc h()()l
Ihive been involved in restructuring their 9ih and lOth ^rade science curriculum.

l*!arl\' in l^^sM. \V (M'ihiihMiMi science icacliois
{K*jt:an an oxannnalum o\ ihc njiIoun naiit)iial
ivciMiinicndaiioiis lor science ivncN^al. 'I1ic\ idcnlificd
a scl ol curriculum iioals as a rcsuli ol ihcir siud> . Thc\
icil ilic need u> updaic ihcir ^nli and HHli iiradc
curricula. Tiic) Iki\c inns dcvcUi[>cd a luo-\car Iohl:
inloiiraicd curriculum iisinii an adajMaiion o\' Kardi
Svstt'ins Kducation. The sch'Hil N\>iem has iviiide a
major conimiimeni lo pro\ ide ihc lacililies and
equijimcni (iiicludini: Maclnui^h 11 c\ coni[^uK.M>.
\ iilecvjisc Cimii-^nioni. CD-ROM. and acce>> uuiaiional
dala banks). The leacheis, wiih aN>i>lance Iroiii Ohio
Siale lacull) . lia\ e secured o\ er S35().i)()() from federal
Nources 10 help in ihe deN'elo[Mneni and ini|Menienialion
ol ihe course Ncqucnce Iroiii U^^X) ihrou^^h

The course sequence i'eplace^ Ihe U'adilional
l-.anh science and hiolo[:\ coui■se^ li uses ihe Fartli
Svstciiis Kducntion Framework as ihe siariinL! poinl
lor idenMl\ini' conleni hcaMl> weighlcd unviud the
biokiiiical subs\siem bui ineludini! conieni Iroiii llie
oilier l:anh s\>iems as v\clK

Durinu ihe llrsl \ear. criiieal issues in global
science are used as organi/.ing Uienics lor unils. The
second year focuses on more ahsiraei ihemes such as
es'olulion and plaie leeionies.

The leachers have n)ade a commiinieni nol [o
use a lexibook; insiead ihcy have ideniified a variety of
readings i rom current litcraiurc and direct their siudcnis
10 ihose materials. They have also decreased the use of
traditional Iceiurc/discussion and are developing an
approach ol collaborative learning where students
function in teams assuming major responsibility fo"
their own learning.

Supporting the overall restructuring is a heavy
unc ol technology. A variety of data bases are being
used directly by students for collection of data and
provision of current infonnaiion. Siudeni.s use word
processing, sprcadshieei and dala base programs for
>ioring and analyzing infoniiaiion as well as simple
dala analysis programs. Students also use imagei)
available on Cf>ROM and laser disc as source> of
ink^niialion and data.

The HKS curriculum de\elopmeni efuM't i>
unique in that it adopi> the grassroots approach. 'I'he
common-sense attitude is i;iken that science leachersdo
in fact dev elop the curriculum which they deliver to
students. \Vh\ slKUildn't (hey Iv ihe des'elopers from
the beginning rather than some outside body imposing
(in theory) curriculum upon them? Nol onl\ do ihe\
hav e the iniimaie know ledge of their students, but lhc\
alsti hasc the necessar\ science background and
proles^ioiKil conipelcnce lo idenlifs and sequence the
necessaiA materials and acii\ilies.

The new course sequence is being monitored
not only by teachers, but by two advisory committees
composed of university professors, educators irom other
area districts and residents who work in science fields.

The school district administration is providing
impoHani suppoil through resources and developing
the appropriate public relations, Ohio State University
is assisting teachers with "outside" support, integrating
ihcirclTorts with national devclopmenl.s, and providing
access to training and infomiation that they may not be
able to access ihemsclves.

For more information contact Roger PinnickSf
Thomas Worthington High School,
300 W. Dublin Granville Rd., Worthington, OH 43085

28

Global Change Scenarios
for the Great Lakes Region

Because global change issues arc often dilTicull
10 understand, many people - iricluding important
decisionmakers - arc hesitant to support global
change policy suggestions by the scientific
community, histead, these people take a **wait and
see" attitude toward global change which,
unfortunately, defeats the purpose of any pro-
active suggestions the scientific community may
offer.

The Ohio Sea Grant Education Program is
currently preparing a scries of short publications
designed to help people understand how global
change may affect the Great Lakes region. By
explaining the possible implications of global
change for this region of the world, it is hoped that
policy makers and individuals will be more inclined
to make responsible decisions about global change
policy issues.

The publications, called 'scenarios,' describe
the prevailing interpretations of the scientific
community concerning what may happen to the
Great Lakes region in the face of global wamiing.
The scenarios are written in lemis the general
public can understand and their content is reviewed
for accuracy by a panel of experts. The scenarios
are between two and four pages in length and
include the most recent infomiation available on a

variety of subjects, including the potential effects
of global change on:

• Agriculture: How will agriculture in the
Great Lakes region be affected?

0 Airborne Toxins: Will global warming
affect airborne circulation of toxic substances?

• Recreation: What could happen to Great
Lakes recreation?

• Biological Diversity: How will food
webs be altered as species disappear or expand
their numbers?

• Estuaries: What are the implications for
low-water levels in Great Lakes estuaries?

• Water Pollution: Will lower water levels
concentrate pollution or dangerous toxins in
neiu*shore areas?

When completed, the scenarios will be made
available to educators and other interested
individuals. A limited numberofclassroom activities
illustrating these possibilities will be developed as
well.

For additional iriformationf contact Rosanne W. Partner, The Ohio State
University f School of Natural ResourceSf 2021 Cojfeg Kd., Columbus, OH

43210. Phone (614) 292-9826

26

29

EARTH SYSTEMS IN THE
MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CURRICULUM

Integrating the science curriculum in central Ohio schools

Since science is our attempt to
understand the Earth on which we live
and Earth processes that influence our
daily lives, shouldn't the science curricu-
lum in our schools use planet Earth as
the focus for integrating our knowledge
of the process and product of science?
Since much of science in the past has
been an effort to harness Earth pro-
cesses for the use of its human popula-
tion, shouldn't the science curriculum
consider technology from the point of
\qcw of its impact upon Earth systems?
These are questions that are guiding the
thinking and work of thirty middle school
science teachers from the central Ohio
area, in a unique program supported by
the Dwight D. Eisenhower program of the
Ohio Board of Regents.

The school teaching staffs from
one of the middle schools in each of the
following school districts are involved:
Columbus City Schools, Southwestern
City Schools, Bexley City Schools,
Whitehall City Schools, Marysville City
Schools, the Columbus Catholic
Archdiocese Schools, Upper Arlington
City Schools and Mansfield City
Schools. Teachers meet together for six
full-day sessions and for three meetings
in their own school on a quarterly basis
for the duration of the project. The goals
of the meetings are to create
and use a regional network of middle

school science teacher leaders, to provide
background in recent global science
developments, to review current
educational theory and practice as applied
to the middle school and science teaching,
to become familiar with new materials
and technology for teaching science, and
to initiate the process of developing
integrated Earth system science middle
school curricula for their particular school
districts. The meetings use a collaborative
working approach where much of the
time is spent in school district or grade
level teams discussing science topics,
analyzing new educational approaches
for their relevance and utility, designing
curriculum and developing teaching
resource collections.

This program is a spin-off from the
Program for Leadership in Earth Systems
Education, a National Science
Foundation supported project that
developed the philosophy and rationale
for the Earth Systems Education
approach. Several of the teachers have
participated in the PLESE summer
program where they became enthusiastic
about the potential for its application to
middle school science curriculum
restructure. These teachers worked with
staff at the Ohio State University to secure
funding and to design the middle school
program.

Additional information can be obtained from Vic Mayer, Earth Systems
Education Program, The Ohio State University, 29 W. Woodruff,
Columbus, OH 43210. Phone (614) 292-7888,

30

2-

Articles Relating to
EcLrth Systems EduccLtion

• 1 eaching from a Global Point of View
from Tin'. Science Teacher. January' 1 WO
Vicior J. Mayer

® Earth Appreciation

from The Science Teacher. March 1989
Victor J , Mayer

# Farih-Systcms Science

from The Science 'Teacher. January 1991
Vicior J . Mayer

• What Rvcry 17-Ycar Old Should Know About Planet Earth: The Report of a

Conference of Educators and Geoscicntists

from Science Educdtion 74(2): 155-165 (1990)
Vicior J , Mayer and Ronald E. Armstron^i,

• A Place for EE in the Restructured Science Curriculum

from C()nfroniin\f Environmental Challenges in a Cluin^in}^ World, 1991
R(>sanne \V. Former

• Down to Earth Biology

f rom The American Bioloi^y Teacher. I-cbruary 1992
Rosanne IV. Fortner

ERLC

2b

33

a Global
Point of View

by Victor J. Mayer

Broadening our
perspective as our
universe shrinks.

The 1^81 kuiiuii of the sp.ue
shuttle Columhici vvos the
tvipstene oi d k^ig b^erieb^
of cuconiplii^hnients th^il
fLindcimenlcilly thonged our
Lindei bttindini; nf our hcibitot — the
pl.inet Edrth. Our perception of its
si/e hod been diminishing sinee the
time t>( lohn CllennV orbiting of the
pKinet, elimoxing with the sight of the
E«irth suspended o\'er the Moon's sur-
Kiee in pit tLires returned by the lunor
expedititMis. Our sp.ue exploits ho\'e
prtH'ided d spet t.H Likir setting in whieh
to et^nsitler glt^b.il edufoli m «ind the
role it shtuild «issume in stiente
edut.UitMi.

C^k^bol edueotit^n iso mtu-ement with
A 20 yeor histi^iy foLinded prim«iiilv
in siKuil studies rdiK^tit^n. Oilt^bdl edii-
t.UiL^n h.is been defined os ". . . the
kntnvledge, skills, ond attitudes needed
to li\"e effett!\'ely in «i \vtM"ld pt^ssc^ss-
ing limited n«itLnMl rest^u.ces or.u
ehor.Hleri/ed by ethnic du'ersity, tul-
lurol pluralism, ond inere«ising inter-
tlependent f." As sueh, it ineorptMMtc^s
.ispet ts t^f en\'irtMimentcil edueotit^n as
well <is interncUit>nol edLH<ititMi. C^lobol
edutcititMi h<is cis its eentrol gt^ol the
est«iblishment iri^ss-cultural under-
standing <ind A tLH^per<it!\'e attitude
ttnvartl wt^id problems.

Olu- tet h nic <il ac t tMnplishments
make the aehie\ement t^f such an in-
ternatitMial understanding exti-emely
important. vVe will (ov example, be
able to transptMi minerals frtim the
MotMi <ind astert^ids [o facltuies in
Fiarth's t^-bit, thereby making available
an abundant supply these rescuirces.
We also will be abk' h) t^blain limitless

energy from the Sun, using scalar
energy collectors placed in t^rbit by
adwmced \'ersions of the space shuttle.
The economic reali/atitnis o( such
endea\'ors, howevxM", wik
international cot^peratit^n.

retjui re

Id

ERIC

2u

Our ever-shrinking universe

More important than the material
b(Mielits is the expansion the frt^nl-
iers of knowledge made possible bv
such lechnok^gical achiewments. VN'e
can now see 8 billitHi light years into
the past; halfway to the beginning o\
the Luiiverse. The Hubble telescope
orbiting outside the Earth's atnu^sphere
will permit us to kn^k even further
into the tnigins the unixerse.
.'Xh'eady we have seen sights in t^ur
tuvn scalar system that uo one had
predicted. 71ie X'oyager flybys of the
tuiter planets have prtn-ided us with
views of erupting \'t)lcantis on \o, a
mtKHi of lupiler, and an immense
sttM-m system on Neptune. The ad-
\ antages of internatitinal cooperatitMi
were amply demtmsl lated by the
Stn'iet and Eurt^pean efftn-t to t^btain
ck^se-up informatitm during the recent
passage of Hal ley's Comet. Spaco prtv
grams are pnn'iding natit^is with a
startling new perception of their place,
not only in our vvt^rld stK'ietv, but in
t^ur solar system and our uniwrse. At
the same time, the spectacular fai hires
o{ our technology, suth as the Chal-
lenger disaster thai tot^k the life of
Chrisla McCauliffe and her fellow
astrcmauts and the ChenK^byl accident
which spread nuclear dt^iris to ttuin-
tries around the vvtMid, remind us of

35

47

the limi til Hons of our U'clinology, the
fragility of hum«in existence, «ind of
the sh«ired destiny of A\ n«itioiib on
our pLinct.

Global education
should he a thread

running through
scieYu:e curriculunu

solar energy, and amservation. To
shift our emphasis to these altern«v
tives, however, requires underst«ind-
ing, commitment, and leadership.

Science as a model for global
education

Our accomplishments and failures are
technological. They result from appli-
cations of the accumulated principles
and facts im ccnv red by the vvt>rls of
thousands of scientists throughtnit
history. One of the basic problems in
achieving an international understand-
ing is the difficulty in establishing an
underbtanding among peoples across
the barrier^ of language and culture.
Science can provide a useful mi Kiel,
since scientists of all languages and
cultures ha\'e a subiect of study in
tommon- oiu" F*arth and a proce^-s
they use lo study it.

They start with an at t urate dest rip-
tion of obser\ ations and then logitally
develop arguments and interpretations
bailed on those obser\ations. S(.iente

a colle(.ti\'e endeavor. Scientii-ti- will
challenge each lUhers' re^^ulti- and
attempt to replicate them. .As individ-
uals, they possess all the frailties and
fallibilities t haracteristic of the human
state. Thev make mistakes. They may
even intentionally falsify data. But sci-
ence has correcting mechanisms. Mis-
takes and falsified data will be revealed
by the work of others. The result o{
this process is a product that accurately
represents nature in as far as the
avaik^ble exidente allows. Science,
therefore, is ethital and honest. It
simply seeks the best representation
of the natural world. Thus, science is
amoral, that is, it seeks neither right
nov wrong, only the best explanation.
Leaders in government, industry, busi-
ness, and society select from among
the principles and infiM'mation maile
available bv sclent e. Thev mav use it

(\vh). Inhii fwiu I'^OO ?Mj7t*.s (right).
Ihi StfiUi iofJur Itviu.im /«'*><^

ERIC

in ways others may judge as right or
wrong, mc»ral or immt^ral.

The effects of technology

Science pro\'ides kntnvledge that can
be used to impnn'e our living stand-
ards. Industrial and political leaders
make decisions that ripply this knowl-
edge as technoK^gy. Technolc»gy dovs
ntU have the self-ctM'recting mechan-
isms that science does and, t he re f tire,
kuks its ethical base. Knowledge can
be used in different ways — ft^r the
ItMig-term benefit t>t all, ft^r slmrt-term
politital gain, ov fov destructive pur-
ptises. Even when used ftn" the mt^st
bene[i(.ial purpt^-^es, the technokigical
use of knowledge can be destructive if
the long-range results have not been
(.tinsidertxl Ftir example, the manner
in which tnir leaders have responded
to energy needs reflects their failure
to understand the km g- range implica-
titins o( excessive energy ctmsumptitMi.
DecisitMis have been made that max-
imize the shtM"t-term gain tM" prt^fit
frtim energy use but ?iSult in ItMig-
r«*«nge prt^blems. Our expK^itatitMi of
k^ssil fuels— including ctvl, tiil, and
natural gas -has had lasting detri-
mental effects upt)n oiw environment.
Stmie are readily recc>gnized: the rav-
aged landscape c»f strip- mined are<is tif
Ohiti and West \ irginia and the t^il
spills frtim damaged tankers such as
the Ex X tin X'alde/. Other effects,
thtnigh mtM'e subtle, are perhaps much
mtM"e threatening tt^ tuir survi\ il.

One issue of global ctincern is the
intrtKiuctitm c»f carbtin dioxide into the
atmc»sphere thrtnigh the burning of
fcissil fuels and the resulting en-
hancement of the"C""ireenhtuise Effect."
There are alternatives tc» the use t^f
fossil fuels, such as nuclear en^M-gy,

3x

Global education,
science, and technology

The scientific approach can prtn ide a

mtidel ft^r achieving diauigue amtmg
peoples of different languages and
divergent cultures. Thus gitiba! ed il-
ea titni should be a thread running
through science curriculum. Our
future leaders and vt iters (today's stu-
dents) must understand our interrela-
tionships with petiples artnind the
world and how our daily activities
affect our planet and its resources. If
they are tc» make wise decisit>ns ct^n-
cerning the applicatitin of scientific
inftirmatitMi, students must realize that
it can benefit or can damage the li\es
of all. Our leaders must be prepared
to draw on scientific, findings not fov
their tnvn self-interest but for the sake
of the ctMiimtin gtiod; in the interests
tif all the wtirld's pet^ple. In many ways,
the science teacher can be cential to

I "/(/(>?• /. Mtwcr hoU> iq>iviulnh'}if> ds /'ra/e\-
.s(V >iiah c ctluiaiion. ^w/oci/ iimi miun '
a\:i/. tuiti iitilmnl }r>oiini> <?/ 1 he Ohio Stiff
Ihmrrsilu. :4^^ Arpj Hnli hU^ .V. His:h
S.. Columhu>. OH 4}2Ji\

37

«H\ omplibhini; this go.il. Thrrc'ftn"i', it
is imjxMinnt thot tculn-is .mj cur-
riculum dcvt'lopcrb undtTStJnJ llu'
gcviU of global oducotion .ir ' Uow it
rrl.itt'S ti^ the si iniu^ furrii iilum.

Including global

education in science curriculum

How i<in you inKOvpovAU' at ti\ itifs ih.M

The investigations
draw upon
a variety of
disciplines in
addition to science
and social studies.

IcMii tt\i;loUil undtM Stnndinv; into yiHir
iLMTiiulum whiih is already ovvv-
burdt-nc'dr ItMi hiTs working in niorint'
.ind tiqUiitir educnlit^n dvvc\o[\\\
<in infusion imu](»l th.it iiuild pnn't' oi
• onif help. W'c Ucivv UM'd their model
in a s(M"ics of invcsti^a titans designed
to imparl marine and't^r auuatii infoi -
maticMi. These activities are dc\ elopi'd
around basic topics or cimcepts already
taught in middle school. The in\'esli-
gations draw upon a \'ariety of dis-
ciplines in additi(.>n to science and Siu ial
studies. They are short and selt-
sutfiiient and thereby easily inserteil
mlo existing curi ii ula.

An example of one suih in\"estiga-
tion, entitled ll'> Eiyyuotu '^ Si.?; Or l> ll?.
explort^s the interests of different
c(.)untries in using the sea as a restuirce.
It starts with a map-i'eailing exercise
that asks students to identify tt^pt^-
graphic features of tlu* Atlantic Ocean
Basin and to Kuate major resouat's
including potential oil rcsei"\'escMT ion-
tinental sheK'es, manganese ntulule

38

30

o

ERLC

deposits in some of the deep ocean
basins, and tin* majiM' fishing ai'eas.
1 hey also examine the positiiMi i^f eight
coimtries n-Iatix-e [o seas, ranging from
lan^llocked nations suih as Boli\'ia to
island states such as Bermuda.

The seCLind part of tiie exercise is a
simulation o\ the Law of the Sea Con-
fertMice. The class is di\'ieled into groups
representing eight coimtries. Each
delegatic>n presents its positions on
resolutKMis c(Muerning the right to free
passagL' of ships, pollution I'ontrol, and
the alliHatiL^n t^i" sea resiun'ces. In the
third pai t L^f the in\'esligation, students
examine the manner in which inter-
natitMial bi'^rdei's are designated and
analyze the SLUiri es o\ border conflii Is
hetwet n Canada and the L'nited States.
Thrmigh this aitix'ily, students learn
that pri^blems o\ rest-urce use are not
si^h'ed nK.M'ely by the techniial applica-
tion o( scientifii kmnvledge. Rather,
st^lutions r(\]uire inftM'med guidance
by political spt^cialists, frequ(Milly in an
inttMnatii^nal lonlexl.

Preparing teachers

\Vc^ ha\'e us(l1 the infusion approach
[o prepare future teaihers in global
education. WtM'king with tme of oiw
faculty members in stKial studies edu-
cation, who is also a national leadtM' in
gk^bal edutatit^n, we de\'eloped a series
c^f acti\ities and integrated tliem into
topics normally taught during our
siienie metln)ds o\'er\'iew. 1 hey in-
clude: the nature of sii(MH'e, critical
reading skills in SL'ience, and tin* use of
Simula titms. The act i\'i ties neit only
proviile our students with a gkA\il

Stiidcnh should learn to recognize tiw <^iobai
tf}}rnt loosed by Ms i^mo;^ (abo\'e) nud the
Aiunzon'i^ dcforcfttUiOii (right).

perspectix'e, but also can provide ideas
iov secondary schciol science teachers
who may be trying to incorporate scmie
of the objectives of gk^bal educaticm
into their courses. The activities take
about fi\'e 2-hoin' lonj; class periods.

The first atti\'ity is a re\"iew i^f the
nature of science using an analysis of
crea tionism and e\'oiulionary theory
as science. It begins with a presenta-
tion of the filmstrip \iaili{i( Mcihoth
.i>ui \'tili{i> (Ha\\khill Associates, Inc..
1 25 E. Gilman St., Madison, VVI 53703),
and students read the Ox'crlon Deci-
sion (Re\'. Bill McLean \'s. Arkansas
ixiard of Ediuation, Opinii^n of Wil-
liam R. Overton, United States Dis-
trict ludge). The latter is discussed,
(.emphasizing the difference's bc'tween
scientific theory and religious precepts.
Fa^m this discussion, students de\"e(Lip
a set of criteria that allow them to
discriminate between scientific and
religious ideas.

We alsL> ha\'e the stucients read an
article that summarizes creationists'
evidence regarding the civxistence of
dinosaur and human footprints (Milne,
David H., and Ste\'en D. Schafesman.
"Dinosaur Tracks, Erosion Marks, and
Midnight Chisel Work (But No Human
FtH^tprints) In the Cretaceous Lime-
stone of the Paluxy River Beds, Texas."
jourtud oi Ccoh\^unl Edniiilion. 31:1 1 1-123,
l'^83). Some of the teaching materials
de\"eK^pc^d by the Creation Rc»st\irch
Institute of San Diegc\ Calif., are ana-
lyzed using the criteria de\"eloped in

3;.

the discussion. This mtHiule helps stu-
dents achieve <i better understanding
of science as a reasiMiing process and
as a discipline; two aspects that are
essential to an appreciation of the
importance of science in global issues.

Students then view an episode of
PBS's NOVA that focuses on Steven
Jay Gould's trip to South Africa. Dur-
ing the program, Gould discusses the

The unit
concludes ivith
a discussion of
the role of the
science teacher in
global education.

development of the concept of human
evolution, how scientists allowed their
prejudices to affect their interpretation
of data, and what influences these in-
terpretaticms had upon social and ecc^-
nomic policies in certain (.cHintries. The
program and subsequent discussion
point out the interdependcMice of the*
world's nations and the manner in
which science can be used to either
cause or alle\'iate problc^ms.

A rounded education

Ouv next st*ctitin begins with a
presentation o( the tilmstrip "Who
Owns the Oceans?/' which provides
an ox'erview of the \'arious interests
that nations have in the sea (Current
Affaitb. Films, PO Box 3^8, 24 Dan-
bury Rd.. Wilton. C T 0o8Q7). The first
two parts of the acti\'ity, U'< Evnyouc:^
Sea: Or }> Jl?. described earlier in this
article, are then used tt^ point out the
interdependence of nations.

An en\'ironmental sectitMi follows
with two activitic*s that demonstrate
envirtMimental problems shared by
several ctHintries. One is a simulation
on acid rain that was dc^scribed in the
April 1^84 issue of 77it' Sicmc Tciuhn
("The Acid Rain Debate." Bybee,
Rtxiger, Mark Hibbs, and Eric [t^hn-
son). The tUher is a lab activity on the
effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide
and the C»reenhouse Etfet t taken from
the February 'March ]^So issue of Si-
niii- /V//r/l/j's ("The "( »reenhtuis(» Effect."
Andrews, David).

This sectitMi ctMicludes with a p:*e-
sentatit^n o( inftM-malit^n about acid
rain develc^ped by two different stuir-

ces. One is a videotape prepared by an
Ohio power company, "Energy and
Electricity," (NSTA/Columbus and
Southern Ohio Electric Company
[lonors Workshop for Teachers). The
other is a filmstrip set prepared by a
Canadian agency, "Acid Rain: The
Barriers to a Solution." (Mclntyre \'is-
ual Publications, Inc., 716 Center St.,
New Vork, N'Y 14002). They take
drastically different positions on what
science has to say regarding the pvoh-
lems and sources of acid rain. Our
students critically analyze each of the
programs for emiUional loading and
factual errors. They also disi uss the
international implications of acid rain.

The unit concludes with a discus-
sion of the role of the science teacher
in global education and the techniques
that can be used to integrate it into
science teaching. Teachers c^f all dis-
ciplines, especially elementary school
teachers, need to recognize the impcM^-
tance of science in the curriculum nc»t
simply as science per se, but in hmv it
relates to the scxial, political, and cco-
nomic spheres of human endeavor.
We must also consider- the products of
science and how they can be used for
the betterment or detriment of mir
life on Earth We must see science as a
bridge to other cultures and as a basis
for communicatitin. A focub on gk^bal
education can help our students to
realize that a sharing of ideas and co-
operatitin among cultures is to the
benefit of all. The science teachcT can
be a key figure in accomplishing this
goal. ■

(lilitoni. M.r , "( ili^b.il Hdiu.ition mu\ the SocmI
Studio" tlui'iy Pt.uihi. Sunuiici .
p 170

Note

ll \ou Mc iiiU n stcJ in {>blaimii>; ni.Ucnalf 1 ri>i\i
il's [ v{'ryi>iit '^i-.i. C^r is li^" (Mjvim , \ k hu 1 .
.iiiJ Sli'ph.inic ihli' C i>}unibiis CVtMnit LJui.i-
lipn.il itK'^ fi>r ( .rctU L.rkcs St hooU. Ohio

Sim (ii.mt PtDKiMm, l<^fi], 1^87 i, pliM>c nm-
Uut ihi- .nithi^r for tiirth<'r iiilorniMluMi

39

ThcSiicmc Tcmfnr 'ltmium/ h^^h-^ Reproduced wiiJi permission from The Science Teacher (Mar./89). Copyright 1989 31
Q by ihc National Science Teachers Associal^rv 1742 Conncclicul Avenue, NW, Washington, DC WM)9.

Appreciation

by Victor J. Ma\e)

Reflections

of eanh

scictKC in

D

n '

i> v»lU n linJ it JiMu ult

pUK .P: \\ .n th.it will
(...p! ini -lUrir-t of

\ i.»ur >tikU iit>r r.ii lh i-
tt .uluM"^ .!! (■ rvM tun.Ui- li* h.n I'
.H rJ \\ ith thi- pi oHcm
* into .1 \ .H K tv ot >oui\t>

!U' ^*.'a!UI- llMlllllli; IT"

It \ I .Ml I.
n!l-;Jv Ot

tll.'il

1 »..ir. m.^.kr thv -tiuiy r.irth
pio^i--r- t.^-». tn.itin.c In .ipiwiliiu; to

:nti ii>t> -tiKlnit^ li.n r

111 li'-toi\. .lit .iiiJ litiT.ituiC. C'ttrii,
;i:-t tilt ii>;lit inioini.ition or illu^tr.i-
i:o;i I .111 br UuiiiJi in 'MU- oi tlu>r I irkl^
\h^i K an lu Ip .i ».i rt.iiii ^tuJnit ov i l.i>^
v'j .^^p .1 ». n t.iin lopk more tIioi oii>;lilv.

A nunibi i' \tMi^ lor pxtiivi-
ph-. tlii'i i- w .1 popul.ir nio\ k* rntitli\l
W ' ■ P.-u ' It .in .lo-ount ol
tlir ('\plor.it!on o{ till- C '.rjnJ C .inyon
b\ M.ijiH- lohn Ar-liA- Powrll Juriny,
till l.Hr K'^OO- Powrll w.i- .1 t.i^unjliiiu
ni.in .in J .in cMrllrnt rx.inipir ol how
h>tork .il } i>;urc^ i.in U- um'J lo iiilri
JiM" ii'rt.un .irr."i> i>t r.n th Mirnio.

i'ovvoll. .111 ottiu r Juniiu the C
\\ v:. lo-l U\r .irm Jiiruiv; ihp UittK' .it
Sh!K>h. Po^pitr thi^ li.inJii.ip. hi' Kuor
bii.niir onr of our lountryV nio^t
proniiiirnt >urnti>t>. Hr UuuiJi'J ihi'
luiiiMU ot I thiiolo.uy .ind hrlpoJ to
tounJ thi- L'mtrJ St.itr- C ".rolin;ii .il
Sut \ ry. In 1 i^i^i^. Ill' Wtis rlri trJ pri- i-
Jrnt ot thr Amrrii.ni A^MH uition tor
till- AJx Miiii'mrnt ot Siii-iiir

rowt'll \v.i> <in r\ii'lli'nt w ritiM'. I li^
(.'\iitini; .uiounl of hi^ tr.n i'U throui'Ji
till" \Vi>t iniluJo^ obM'rx-.ition^ ol the
( ".r.inJ C iinyon ond thi- C olor<ido Rix i'r
thiU uin bi u^i'J to tc.iih b.iMi lon-

».i'pt> of oro^ion, M-oinU'ii t.ition.
-tr.iti>;r.ipliv. tincl >;i'oloi;ii history. 1 ho
tollowin^; \> .i >.iniplr troni W\> joiirii.il:

liiK- 13 l.\lonM\ I' ><iik1 pl.unMAti iiu
b.uls honi till- ininirJi.itr ri\rr \\illo\',
.1^ {.ir .i> \vr i.in -ro. on I'ltlii'r ^iJo.
"i'hr^r n.ilcJ. Jriftuv.: ^.inil> vJiMiii
brilli.iiilK- in tho nikul.n- Miii of iuiv.
I he i i'floi toJ liiMt troiii the i;Kiriii>;
^ui t.iio priKluii> .1 lurioi:^ motion ol
iho .Unio^phori'; littlo lurroiit- .iri'
\;riior.iti*».l .mil thr w lioK" M'riii> to bo
tronibliiii; .iiul nio\ in>; .lUuit in iii.iiiy
clii oi tion>. or. l.iiliiii; to <vv tli.i' thi*
mo\inioiit 'i> 111 the .iliiio^plioiv, it
\;!\'o^ tlio iiiipro^^ioii ol .in iin^t.iblo
KinJ. ri.iiii^, ciiiJ hill^. aiiJ ilifl^. .111^1
ili^tiiiit iiiouiit.iiii^ MH'iii \'.ii;uoly to bo
llovitiiii; iibout in .i tronibliiij;. \v.i\i
l oi Isi'd MM. .iiui p.itclio^ of KlIlllM.lpe
will M-riii to flo.it .iw.iv, .iiid bo lo<t.

ERLC

40

1 W\> i-- lypiuil ol [\n\rir> w i il-

\\\\.\. Wh.U I- inipn'^>i\t i> hi> .ibilitv to
put .utiiMi .Mul (Aiitfmrnt into \voiJ>
.inJ M>o h\> vvvy \ i\ ki J(>^t i iption^ ot
n.itiir.il plu'nonHMi.i, >iuh vi> viir t iii -
:^nt^ j'.i'iHT.iti'J by tin- lit^tfJ >.inJ
^uil.Hc [ Itn\ nuuh siivmc intcM t'^tinv;
i> thi> wiitinv; tlvin th.W whith
not .m.illy fiiul in MitMuo ttAtbook^.

\ {.)>un.itini.; >t'rif> ot t'\t'nl> iiom
our histiMy th.it ^..in bo um J to illu>-
not only the* n.ituit' ol ciith
pi\Hc'>M> but «iUo lnn\- >ui h pi ik
U<\\r bvvw uscJ to mibK'<ul pooplf a\ v
ivI.itt'J by AlLin Kck(Mt'< book 1 lu-
fK»j///rfH,»..H; ( 10o7l. \\v o\ tho .v;ifcit
lnJi<in UmJci" "TVium^ch, who if tho
histtM ic.il roccM J> nro tonct t, w.is btM n
in .1 vcMf th.1t .1 tc^iiH't \'iMiotl mu" st^Lu"

^y^tom. A>.i oi Jini; to InJi.in K\i',t'nJ,
ihi^ >;.n'o hini \\\\\)[ [nnwr.

IHuinv; thr o.iily i800>, he
.it It'mptiny, lo r.illy the InJian tiibo>
tiM jn .itttmpt to it\Liim their Lin>.U
Irom thf ,\nuMit.in>. Purin.u hi> ti.u -
v\> to r.ii^o ^uppoi t, hi' toki U\> .illio> to
t'\pt\t two ^it;n> th.it would tontirm
hi> power anJ ^lyji.il thorn to iom him
in b.itllf. On iht- ni>;ht ot Wut-mbfr
lo, 181 I, .1 motc^Mitr ll.i^ht^l .u io>>
tho Mitiwt^^tt'rn ^ky. [ c kt'rt^' dllio^ took
thi> tht' tu-^t ^i>;n. 1 ht'n. 30 ikn>
Liter, .in own more ptn\t'rtul ext-nt
otunrod. I'tktM t piiuiJt> ^ KiMin.it-
Mii; dt>(. ription'

In the MUith ol C'.uickl.u in tht* vih
\^y^'> o{ [Uv h'oquoi>. Ott.iw.i, C'hip-
[x^w'.i <ind 1 kiit^n, it uinic .i> .i Jcop
tcM iityini; runibltv C reek b.i iiks t\i\ c\]
in .mJ huv;i" troe^ toppK\] in .i nin-

.1 I

liiiuou-^ I r.wh ol ^n.ippiiv.' hi.iiuhic^
hi .lil tho C ire.il I .iko- but e>[H\ i.ilh
[ .iko Nhi iiiiMP. .inJ [ .ike I no the
w.Uoi> J.iiHoJ .^.iKi \\\\\}{ w.i\e- [■»uik(
ei ' .ill\- on iho -liore-. thou^.-Ji tliei\
w,i> no winJ hi the wo^tein p|j!i>
t hel e W .1^ .1 t lel\ I <; I : Mi ! i 11;.', ^ouiui /<iul
.1 -huJJerino, whuh j.ii i eJ the 1\mu--
."liu! ^et IreJh on i jy^e. } ,u"lhen \( -^( U
>p!:t .ifMil .mJ iHui- v! t^i^on

-t.^y.;.;( I r J to ihoii ire! ,i?kI -}jinprj< J
in I p.uin. I u liic -oulii

w h.ole iorc - I - tell in i:u reJible i.mrjr^
\e\\ -li-o.iiii- -pi.iny, up whore none
h.ul hoiMi bolou^ In the- I ppei C reck
x ill.ie.e ol 1 Ui k. ib.it Ju-e < \ei \ Jwi llme.
-huJJoioJ" .in. I -hook .nul n v ol
1.1 p>c^\ u po n 1 1 ^el { <i iij it'- i n -
li.ibit.iiit^ .... 1 lie Mi-^i^Mppi ilscll
turiieJ .iiiJ iKnveJ b.itkwMrJ- for a
tinio. It >\\ irleJ .iiul oilJu'J. hi^'-t-J .inJ
iUiii'JeJ. .inJ .It len.utli. when it ^t'ltleJ
Jow n, the l.ne ol the l.iiid h.ul li.ine,c\i
\'e\\ M.iJriJ w.i- Jt>tro\'eJ .iiul ti ns
(i{ thcUK.iiHU o\ .K ii> ill l.inJ . . \ .111-
i^heJ lorewr; .iiul lh.it whit li reni.iiiieJ
w.is u>;ly .iiiJ .ui^tei'e. 'pp. 338 310''

M.iny ol letuin-^eh'^ liuli.iii .)||ies
.uieptotl tht^, the hr^l ol .i >eiie> ol
>luHk> (.ornpri^iiiv; the >;re.il \ew
M.iJriJ e.ii thtjUcike. .i> the m\oiiJ Hi>;n.
1 hey joined 1 et iim^eh. .ilon.uwith their
Briti>li .lilies, to th.illenv;e the .Xmi-ri-
t.in>. letuni^eh, lnnve\-er. w .i^ kilK'd
very e.irly in the b.ittle, pro\iiiv; th.il
he had no >peii<il power other tli.m
the foree ot hts peison.ilitx-. 1 li> Iiidi.in
allien attei t'd and tht* .Xmeritan^ went
till tt^ deleat the British .ind m-i ure the
W^rth wt^^t 7 erritiMie^.

lAiellent prose abiuit e.uth pro-

ERIC

3 - BEST COPY AVAWIE

41

ol

t esses c.in a\so be found in ncn'cls .ind
otluM- lilenluit', l.inu'ii MichcncT, (ov
o\<impk', h.is included very ilyndnv
ic desc riptionii in sc)nK' of his hisl(H'ie*il
novels. In HiWnii (U'>5^">), he describes
the c)rif;iii of the islands in very vi\'id
jM'ose, prcA'iding insij»hi into the vol-
lanic processes ih.il fcM'nn'cl iind con-
tinue \o mi^ld lhc» isLincls.

In Cn\in\niid (Py-i), he describes the
evoluti(^n of the Rocky MoLint.iin'^ over
billic^ns of ye.ir^ i^f lime, [ le devotes ii
ih<ipter e.uh It^ the dewlopmenl i^f
the Riuky MoLint<iins, the ex'olutioii
of the life ol the ,ircM, «nul the* (Mriy
prescMUV i^f huni.ins. Kspeci.iliy inter-
esting ih the sec tion on the li.ibit«it .ind
life of the dini^s.un s th«it inh«ibited the
I'ee.ion during; the Cretaceous period,
rheir rem.iins .ire pre^ervc>d in the
f.inKHis Mc^rrison toinhitic^i, whic h is
expensed in «i dr.im.itic rocul cut on tlie
outskirts of Denx'er.

In his niost recent boc^k, /\/.isL<
U^\S8), he gives very under^t.ind.ihle
e\pl,in,itions c^f how Al.isk.i y,\ vw cnci
the p.ist billion ycMrs. \ \v .ucui.itely
desiribes the processes c>t pl.ite tci -
teenies th,U .icccumted tc'r its [c^rm»i-
tion .ind the recent ide.isc^t "terr.ines"
that geologjsts now think .uc unnil.iled
cAcr millions c>f ye.irs tc^ h^^\^^ the
Al.isk.in penins«iLi. Mi(. hcner nlsc^ pi c>-
\'ides insight into the methods used
by gec^lc^g.ists tc> intc'iprot the histcn y
of .111 cire.i, ,1s the lc>llowiiig. p.Ns.ige
shcn\*s.

In one of the t.ir w.istes c^f the Scuilh
f'ticific C)ce.ui ci loiig-v.iiiished isl.iiid-
studded Lindm.iss of scMiie mtignitudc*
.iidse, now gi\'eii the n.imc* W'iMngelli.i,
«incl held it st«iyc\l put, it might h.u'c
produced .iiu)ther .issemblv of isLiiuls
like the "I nhiti group or the S.imcMn.
Inste,id, fc>r re.isc^ns ncU kncnvn. it
fr.igmented. <ind its hi)lves mnvc\1 with
.1 p.irt of the l\icific f^Kite in .1 noi th-
erly direction, with the cMstern h.ilf
ending up <ilong the Sii.ike KivcM" in
Idiihc) «".nd the wc»stern ,is <i p«ii t c^f the
AKisk«in peninbuLi. We c.in m.^ke this
st«itement with cert.iinty bee .uise sc i-
entists h«ive eompcired the* stcucture
c^f the two segments in minute* clc*l.iiL
«ind c)ne Liyer oftcM' .mother c^f the ter-
r.ine which l.mdc^d in id.iho m.itclic*s

M fhc Ohio Suit- lhihyr>ify. /o.jo \'.
S.. Lohnuhih. Oil -i^^lO.

perfectly the one whic h w.indered to
ALiskn. The hiycrs of* roek were Liid
down <it th(* s*ime time, in the some
sec|uenc-c* ond with the s.iine rc»l<i(ive
thicknc^ss .ind m.ignc*tie c^ricMitdticm.
rhe fit is obsc^lute, <ind is x'erified by
niiiny m.ilehing str.it.i. (p. 5")

Mic lienei 's ncu'els, Lc kcM"t'b historic til
.iccdunts, .ind Powell's jcnirii.ils .ire
only .1 few ex.imples c^f writing suit.ible
loi' the science cl.issrcH^in. There .ire
m.iiiy othei" writers .ind poets whc^
cu'cr the ye.ii s, h.U't' pi*oviclecl desc l ip-
ticMis lh.it c.jii bc» substituted fc^- the
ollen dull .iiid stilled writing found in
our science lc»Nts, It is simpiv up lo
te.ichers Ic) be on the .ilert (or such
p.iss.igc*s.

The Earth and
its processes
have been an
inspiration to
many artists.

Al t cm ,ilsc> pi cA'ide illusti Mtioiis of
e.u th pi cH esses. I'x'e been .111 .ivicl plic>-
togiMpher since the 8tli gr.ide.
Thcwe whc> sh.ue my eiitliusi.isin IcM'
the hcUiby will be f.unili.ii- with the

ii. ime Ansel .Ad.un^. fie w.is m\' lieic^
,ind I h.u'e .ilw.iys .ispiied tc^ plicUc^-
gr.iph l.mclsc.ipes ,is sensitively .iiid
inspiiMtic^n.illy ,is h(* did.

Ad.inis w.is bcM ii .md r.iised in S.in
fr.imisccv When he w.is fcuir. <iii
.illcMshoc k cW lhev;re.tt e.ulhc|U.ike o\
ic>0o kiicH kc\l him .ig.unst .1 brie k vn'.iII,
bit'ciking his nose. Mis f.ice boie the

iii. iik of th.it cMi tluiu.ike throuejiout
his life, lie* w^ent c^n to become ,iii
.iidenl cc^iiscMWiticMiist <uid cMie c^f cuii"
most f.imeuis photogr.iphcMS. His in-
tei pretciticMis c>f western l.indsctipes is
.irt of the hi);hest mcMit . But they ,ilse^
illustr.ite* cMi th processes diid c.iii serve
as e\ee*lleiit IcMching tcHils. (See pho-
tc^gi.iph on f\iges L^O c^ 1 .)

file h.iith .ind its prcKessc*s h.u'e
been cin iiispitiition tc^ m.iiiy .irtists.
One* e^f rny fdvc^ritc* nrt selec tie»ns is .i
se*ric*s of fe^iir pointings completed dur-
ing 183^) <ind 1840 by the Americ<in
p.iiiiter The^m.is Cole. Entitled / /u

IW/^.v^' ()/' iifi', they depict the mcHKls of
the v.irious stages in the human life
c yc le, in the detail frcMii "Ycuith/' found
cwi page* o2, the verdant shc^re pro-
vides a setting of excitement and
energy os the ycuith looks to a future
c^f promise and produetivity. The other
paintings depict childhocHi maturity,
and old age. In (Mch, COle has used
planet Farth and its prcn esses to ex-
press his feelings abcuit life and the
stages that we all move thrcuigh.

.All inspired teacher will help stu-
dents experience the planet the way
C ole did, to see in l'!arlh proC(»ssc»s a
reflectic^n c^f the iiitini.ite relationship
between humans and their cMU'iron-
menl, .ind help them re.u li .m uuvler-
st.iiidin.g c>f our dependence upon a
rich .iiid fruitful eiivirc^nment and our
need lo susl.iiii its cjualily f c>r c)ur cnvn
be nef it and that c»f future jv'nerations.

Our beautiful Earth

As science teachers, we c.mi .ippeal
to the right brain, as \vc»ll as the left
brain, o\ our students in ourattempts
lc^>;et them iii\c^lvc»d in science. Thev
sluuild enccHintei planet Lai th through
our ccHiisc^s as a thing of bcMutv: its
pi cH esses de\'eloping spc\ t.u ular \'islas
as they ciperate ovvv eons of time.
T'hey should he able to mar\el at the
beauty c^t an ice crystal sparkling in
the sun as a glacier melts. Ihey must
come to value the Larth, neU jubt for
the miner.ils it );i\ c»s up to industrv, or
the oil it provides (or cHjr cars, but fcM"
the sunsets frcun its atmosphere and
the symmetry in a c rystal. As teachers
help their students achieve a raticmal
understanding of the L-arth and its
(Mcnesses through a study of science,
they als'a can provide a firm huinda-
tion {c)r the develeipment of a s\'stc»m
of values that honors the enduring
spirit of hum.iiikiiid and that recog-
iii/c's its dependence upon the esthetic
cpialities c^f planet Karlh. ■

IscllltlHl"-

I itllc. I^inwn .inif C i>ni(\>r>v

Mulicncr. lA J i '■Tn ». . \iu ^.nk

R.>nJi^ni I Ituwc

Muln-ncr. I A ILu-.^y. Srw k.>n-

Ji>m ft<ur*«c

i\nsrii. t u < i^rc' /;•, U;-;,-, c^hf.uh

/w;k C l^u.>>it' I f>i- L nnriMlN ni C fiu,.):o
f'l t"-*-

ERIC

fuuhn.XUiuh l^K^^f Reproduced with permission from nie Science Teacher (Jan./90). Copyright 1990

43

by ihc National Science Teachers Assocgt?oh, 1742 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009

y4 planetary perspective

ictor }. iWuy'L r

ccordiii^ (() rcxvnt studies of
scientific litcr^kv. our citizens
renuin uninlormed about
many of the unique cultural
and scieruifit contributions of
the liarth sueiices. I'his lack
of kn()\vled;^e has negative consequen-
ces when v.'e are asked to decide on
national policy ci)ncerning technical
development, resource use, and envir-
onniental quality. The Harth sciences
'\^/^ must play a major role in the new-
round of curricula renovation that are
, bc\i;innin^ to occur workhvide. When
our leaders and citi^ens need to apply
the result., of plnsieal and biological
science research, luirth science offers a
unique perspective and body of knowl-
edge that can help them make sound
economic and social decisions

There are .it least three areas in \
the Eiarth sciences can make mait){
tributions to K-12 curriculum coi
They include the ir;/j/> /<•,//—
we think about our place as humti
the grand design of tlie L'niversc

IKSTCDPYJlVillLABL!

7)ict h(nt<il(}{:iL\tl -the- iiuc Ik-t t ual
met hods that wc* use- in in\c'stiu.iii(\u
our MiiTounditips; and tht- ifnu'i fU.u.il-
what wt know about our world and
liow it functions.

PHILOSOPHICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Bch)ro James Hut ton's 'Ihcffj') of
r^.ntb was publislK-d in l''9'S,our planet
was thought to he a nieie 6()()() vears
old. Idut^on s houk intrt)duced the con-
cept of "deep time." and lO years later
(aiarles l.vell expaiuledon this concept
in Pivnij^Us of Cjcn/oi'], Lyell su^uesied
an liarth o{ ureat aiie. upon which
"ohservable processes" de\eK)ped the
features of rocks anci landsctipes. This
concept became the b.isis for the devel-
opment of all mt)dern ueolo.uical c«tn-
eepts. It also set the sta^e for Darwin
(who, .soon after Lyell's bcjok was puh
lished, took it on his famous soya^ue) to
develop the theory of oi\u<nuc evoluti* )n
These scientific theories have had a
^reat impact on our culture; we can no
lon^i;er consider the liarth as haNin^u
been created speciticalK for man's use.
vStephen Clould. in his recent book.
77;//c*t Armui. 'I'i?f/c'\ (jc/f. (}uoted
Mark Twain's toi\uue-in-cheek depiction
of this attitude:

"Man has been here ^2 ()(X) years. Thar
it took a hundred million years to pre-
pare the world tor him is proof thai
that is what it wa^ done for. 1 suppose
it is, 1 dun no. If the Fa'ffel 'I'ower were
now representing the world's a.ue, the
skin of paint on tlie pinnade-knoh at
its summit would represent maiVs share
of that a^e; and anybody would per-
ceive that that skin was what the tower
was built for. I reckon the\ would, i
dunno."

The current attitude that we can
squander luirth's resources and .some-
how be saN'ed from the consec]uences is
not tenable. We now understand that

I THE SCIF.NCK TEACHER

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

w'j ocvupy a planet that has evolved
over se\eiMl hiliioiis oi years. We, our-
selves, «ne a very recent result of a pro
cess that has gone on for an equalh
I()n>! {X'ri(Ki of time and that has resulted
in the extinction of many life forms.

The Hiirth sciences deal with deep
tinie as a fundamental element in their
structure. Therefore, they are the place
in curricula where an understanding; of
this concept must be lievelopeil. Teach-
ing lor a true understanding, ho\\e\er,
is extremely difficult. Ciould savs:

"An abstr,ict, intellectual understanding
of deep time comes easily en{)ugh — I
know how mail) zeroes to place after
the 10 V. lien 1 mean billit)ns. detting it
into tile gut is quite another matter.
Deep time is so alien that we can realh-
only Comprehend it as metaphor. And
Sx) we i\o in all our pedagogy. We tout
the geological mile (with human his-
tory occupying the hist few inches) or
the cosmic calendar ( with Hotno supiois
appearing but a few moments before
Auld I.ang Syne')."

Tejcliing about deep time, therefore,
requires a great deal of thought and
cre,iiive effort. One problem is de\eh
oping an understanding for immense
numbers such as a million or billion.
To put things in perspective, one eighth
grade Ii,irth science teacher has the stu-
dents in each of his classes count dots
printed on pieces of paper. W^hen one
sheet has been counted it is taped to
the wall. Hy the end of the day, the
walls are covered and the cooperative
count has reached only one million.
Another Harth science teacher has his
students use their bcxlies to construct
the geologic time scale. Using a scale of
one meter to 10 million years, students
place themselves at different events on
the time scale. In this way they Ix'come
intimately involved with both the events
and the relative time in which they

ERIC

47

JANUARY l</;i BST

41

occurred. The rcsultin.u time scale
stretches the entire lenuth of the schiu)!
buiMint: « nO n-

Deep time i^ u-st one concept th.it
has helped us understand our place in
the I' ni verse iuquali;. important was
G)pernicus" restructuring ot' the solar
system into a hclioCcirric model and
the subsequent understanding of the
place of the solar system itself w ithin
the Cialaxy and the Universe. It has
bect)me more jnd more difficult to chink
of the world as having been created
solely for us — to be used as wc see fit;
it was this attitude tl a is responsible
for the environment,'.! problems wc are
iu)w facing. The (.onccpt of organic
evolution has further eclipsed rhc ego-
centric philosophy. \X'e are only one
branch of a long series of developments
that has survived because the pre\ ious
branches lived in harmony with their
environment

THE METHCDOLOGICAL
CONTRIBUTIONS

The F.arth sciences pro\ ide an excel-
lent opportunity- for students to learn
the problem serving approaches ot the
scientist. Students can experience weath-
er svs terns, observe weathering taking
place, and interpret landscapes in the
\icinity of their homes. Such experien-
ces can entice them into searching out
.1 deeper understanding ot the n.iture
of scientific investigation.

Steven Ciould, in his address to the
1^)8^ \STA convention, decried the
low status given the nietliods used b\
l:arth scientists, such as the historical
method. The experimental method is
held up as the hallmark (^f science in
elementaiT and sexondarx stien^e teach-
ing: however, it is the historical and
descriptive methods that ha\e given us
the truly powerful ideas about ourselves
and our place in the Tniverse. After
alKC.upernicus did not perform experi-
ments to reorder the solar svsteni with

• ir"38 ■ THi: SC.II-.NC I. TI-.AC Hl.K

the Sim at its center, nor did L^arwin
perform experiments to create his
thei)ry of evolution

In reality, there is no one methiKi of
science. What marks science as a dis-
cipline is the gathering ot levil- world
data and the obiecti\e analysis of that
data to gain meaning for how the world
operates C'onducting experiments is
simply one w ay of obtaining data. The\

Deep t 'nilL
is just ouc
concept
that has
helped
//s

;nhlt rUjuJ
our pLiLf
the I }in erst.

are lisiialK '.onducicd (<• \tnt\ ide.is
den\ed tnun data obtained by obser\a-
t!on^ and descriptions ot liarth'.s pro-
cesses but our siud.ents belie\e ihat
the only science is experimentation.
They are led to Ix lieve that exfX'riments
are tlie only way to experience "hands-
on"' science. Hut there are many wa\s
the I'arth science teacher can exemplity
the historical and descriptive approaches
in a ■ hands-on" mode: for example, by
'uirting changes in a stream over time,
or gathering and analyzing weather data.

The discovery of deep time, the devel-
opment of the theory of evolution, our
understanding of our Universe, and the
knowledge we now have of our planet's
e\olution and its en\ irons are basic con-

4.:

cepts underlying western thought and
philosophy. They are not the result of
experimentation, but of the application
of the historical methods of the Harth
scientist.

The Oustal I-volution Hducation
Froject of the National Association of
Cieology Teachers 'eve loped over ^2
activities on plate tectonics (available
trom V<'ards Science list ablish men t.
Inc. ». Many exemplify the historical and
descriptive approaches of the Larth
scientist, and we as science teachers can
use them to acquaint our students w ith
the thought processes behind such
meth(Kls. They include, for example,
activities on Iceland (where students
plot data on rock ages), paleom.ignet-
ism, and earthciuakes. ^X'orking as teams,
studients analyze the data, and, based
on their interpretations, determine the
location of the mid- Atlantic Ridge as it
crosses Iceland.

Other activities use data from deep
sea cores tt) verify the spread of the
Mid- Atlantic ocean basin, or paleo-
magnetic <lata to determine the relati\e
positions of India as it nio\ed up to
imp.ict the Asian continent.

THE CONCEPTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

We are now able to look at the Larth m
a dramatically different wa\. Instead of
being forced to examine Miiall areas of
terrain or k)cal atmospheric ciianges,
scientists can iiviw view the planet
hoi is tic ally. This has been m.ide possi-
ble because of many advances in tech-
nology. Sophisticated satellites can
ob.serve biological, chemical. geoK)gical,
and physical changes over enormous
areas. Supercomputers now permit the
reduction and anahsis of huge amounts
of data, (ioinmunication networks link
scientists from many different pi. ices
on the liarth to work simultaneously
on the same projects.

Partly as a result of applying these
new tools to the study of our planet.

FIGURE 2. The seven understandings from
the Framework for Earth Systems Educa-
tion (courtesy of The Ohio State Univer-
sity).

• Earth is unique, a planet of rare beauty
and great value.

• Human activities, collective and individ-
ual, conscious or inadvertent, are senously
impacting planet Earth.

• The development of scientific thinking
and teciinology increases our ability to
understand and utilize Earth and space.

• The Earth system is comprised of the
interacting subsystems of water, land. ice.
air. and iife.

• Planet Earth is more than four billion
years old and its subsystems are contin-
ually evolving.

• Earth is a small subsystem of a solar
system within the vast and aricient
Universe.

• There are many people with careers that
involve study of Earth's origin, processes,
and evolution.

NOTE

The complete Earth Systems Frame-
work (abstracted in Figure 2) and
information about the Program for
Leadership in Earth Systems Educa-
tion is available from the author.

REFERENCES

Ciould, SJ. 1987. Time's Arrou\
Thne's Cycle. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.

Hutton, J. 1795. Tbeofy of the
Earth it'ith Proofs and Illustrations.
Edinburgh: William Creech.

Lyell, C. 1830-1833. Principles of
Geolog)'. Bein^ an Attempt to Ex-
plain the former Changes of the
Earth's Surface hy Reference to
Catises Now in Operation. London:
John Murray.

Mayer, V.J., and R.E. Armstrong.
1990. What every 17-year-oId should
know about planet Earth: A report
of a conference of educators and
geoscientists. Science Education
74(2):155-165.

Earth scientists now speak of the Earth
as a system. Rather than having to
restrict their study to prcKCSses that
can be observed in one place at one
time, or a few places at several times,
they can now look at processes occur-
ring on a glt)bal scale and in a time
frame stretching back tens of millions
of years. Thus we arc beginning to
receive the first glimmer of understand-
ing of how the Earth system works and
how each of its subsystems, such as
lithosphere. atmosphere, and hydrt)-
sphere interact with each other tt) pro-
duce global changes. It has alst) been
evident that humans and their activi-
ties have been a ver^' important agent
in changes that have txrcurred in the
past, and will t)ccur in the future. This
is now a different planet that we are
living on; a complete revolution in our
knowledt;e of our home has tKcurred.
Unfortunately, however, little of this
new knowledge has ft)und its way intt)
the curriculum.

Cjlobal changes can be tlK)ught t)f as
occurring on two different timescales.
One is c)n the order t)f tht)usands tt)
millions of years, and includes prtKesses
such as plate tectonics, the gradual evt)-
lution of mountains, t)cean basins, and
other large features t)f the Earth's crust.
The other changes occur on the order
of decades tt) centuries, and include
prt)cesses in subsystems such as the
bit)sphere and atmt)Spherc. It is the lat-
ter that is most influenced by t)ur
acti\'it}' — glt)bal warming, for example —
and therefore t)f mt)st immediate
concern.

To teach these Earth ct)ncepts, in-
structt)rs should use the results t)f the
new technology epitomized by current
satellite imagery. In 1977, NASA pub-
lished Mission to Earth: Lundsat Vieu s
the World, which includes a wealth of
high altitude imagery. In 1978, NASA
ft)llt)wed with an educators guide that
contains ideas t)n how tt) use the images.

Reproduced with pcrmissit^n from The Science Teacher (Jan./91). Ct)pyrig}u 1991
Q by the National Science Teachers Association, 1742 Conncclicul Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20(X)9.
m 4^

More recent imagery available from
NASA allows students tost^dy upwel-
lings and the consequent blt)om of
phytt)planktan, variations in the level
t)f the sea, and the directit)n of wind at
the sea surface t)n the scale t)f conti-
nents and t)cean basins (Figure 1 ).

A natit)nal prt)ject is nt)w underway
tt) implement many of the understand-
ings discussed abt)vc intt) the K-12
science curriculum. The Program ft)r
Leadership in Earth Systems Educatit)n
(PLESE), rtLcritly funded by the Na-
tit)nal Science Ft)undatit)n, is preparing
K-12 teacher teams tt) implement Earth
Systems syllabi in their own classrtK)ms
and tt) ctMiduct wt)rkshops in their states
and ItKales.

The planning ct)minittce t)f the prt))'-
ect, using the results t)f a 1988 ct)nfer-
ence t)f geoscientists and educatt)rs held
in Washingtt)n, D.C, and an analysis t)f
Prt)ject 2061 Earth science ct)ncepts,
develof.xrd a framework t)f seven under-
standings (Figure 2). PLESE teams
organized at summer wt)rksht)ps at the
Ohio State University t)r the Univer-
sity of Nt)rthern Colt)racio used the
framework as a guide in developir)g
Earth systems syllabi and in selecting
materials tt) implement the syllabi.
Through programs such as this, curricnj-
la is develt)ped that wiP prt)vide our
saidents with a much richer understand-
ing of the nature t)f science, and mt)rc
importantly, the nature of the planet
on which they live. With such under-
standings, we as a st>ciety will be better
prepared tt) meet a future in which all
is changing; our wt)rld's ect)nt)mics,
politics, and envirt)nment.

Victor). Mayer is a professor of Science
Education, Geolo^ and Mincralog)'. and
Natural Resources at Ohio State U ni-
ter sit); 1945 N. High St., Columbus.
OH 432 JO. and is the director of the
Program for Leadership in Earth S)s-
terns Edtication.

49

JANUARY W\ 139

What Every 17- Year Old Should
Know About Planet Earth: The
Report of a Conference of
Educators and Geoscientists*

VICTOR J. MAYHR

Department of Educational Studies, I he Ohut Siuic UnivcrMiv.
Columbus, on 43210

RONALD E. ARMSTRONG

South Glens Falls [SY) Public Sclwcds

Introduction

There is great public concern rcgardinj: Uk .iualit\ ul science curricula \\\ ihc
nation's schools. This concern has resulted m a number o\ ettorts U^ redetine
curriculum and especially to identify the curricular bases ior scicntitic literacy
Perhaps the most prominent of these ettorts is that of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061 (AAAS, 1989). Such efforts in the
past have, in the opinion of some science educators, neglected Planet Earth despite
the fact that one could consider the entire domain of science as being an ellorl to
understand our planet and how its processes work. Curriculum efforts, like the
science disciplines that sponsor them, have often taken a reductionist approach
focusing on the specific contributions of certain scientific disciplines in understand-
ing concepts and processes within their defined domain, failing lo relate them io
the earth system in which they operate and mteract with oth r processes and
concepts. But, whereas scientists have seen the limitations of the traditional science
disciplines and have spawned a variety of interdisciplinary efforts to understand
basic processes, the science curriculum is trapped in the century old curricular
straight-jacket of biology, chemistry and physics. This seems to have insured the
neglect of the planet earth systems that are our home and govern our well-being.

To provide a basis for an adequate representation of Planet Earth in the current
curriculum efforts, a conference of educators and geoscientists was held in Wash-
ington, D,C. in April, 1988. The four and one-half day conference identified those

* This is a portion of a report published and copyrighlcd by the Ohio State Unucrsit) Kcscjich
Foundation. Permission has been granted for its reprinting here.

Science Education 74(2): 155-165 (1990)
C 1990 John Wiley & Sons» Inc.

CCC (K)3(vS326.90/():()l5.^-lli()4 tK)

156 MAYER AND ARMSTRONG

goals and concepts about Planet Earth that every IV-year-old should know when
coinpleiiiig pre-college education. The sponsors of the conference were the Amer-
ican Geological Institute and the National Science Teachers Association. The results
of the conference have wide-spread implications for the content of curriculum
materials and instruction in K-12 science and geography courses. This article is an
adaptation of a report of the conference published hv The Ohio Stale University
(Maver, IVSS).

Ih.icki^roiaul

PanicijMnis in a mceimg o\ cducatois and gcoscicntists held in Sepieniber, {9<S5,
concluded ihai ihe lop jMioiii\ for imjutiving j^rogranis in earth science education
was the de\ elopment of a K-12 earih science s\ Halms, 'i hose altending ihe meclinu.
held ai ihe hcjdqiuners of ihc American Geological Insliiuie (A(H) in Alexandria.
\'A, <uid siipj-joiied wiih a grant \vom the NatitMial Science Foundation (NSf-), aKo
coiichidcd ilhti such .1 document it it bore the enciorscmenl of both ihe scientific
.md science educ.aion comnuiniiics would ha\e a strong impact on the content o\
ie\ilu)oks, sialic and local curriculum guides, and state and national tests. [Antic-
ipants Icit that It would pro\idc guidance for educators and scientists in conducting
cooperati\e cltoris to impro\c the teaching about Planet Larth in the nation's
scluHils.

In Autumn. I9n7, sc\cral science educators and science aucncv represcntati\ cs
m Washington, DX\. after lenuthy discussions. cxMicluded that the first step in
dcveloj^inn such a s\!labus wcuild be to con\cne a cxwiference of eminent scientists
to idcntits the components i-l our cuircnt knowledge of Planet liarlh that have
rele\ance for the K-12 curriculum. C^Miversations with reprcsentati\es of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Geological Sur\ey (USGS).
and the Directorate of Cieosciences for NSF led to agreements to identify and
support three or four scientists each to participate in such a conference. The sci-
entists were selected within each agency using four criteria. Any scientist selected
should:

1) he recognized b> peers as a leader in the discipline.

■ 2) have a broad knov\ledge of earth systems and be able to see bevond his, her
specially to the broad conceptual fabric of earth systems,

3) have an interest in science education and have a commitment to help improve
the science curriculum.

4) be an effective communicator.

Nineteen scientists meeting these criteria participated in the conference.

The conference organizers (sec Appendix) felt that scientists by themselves would
have a difficult time completing the conference task since few would have any
direct experience with schools and science curricula. Thus it was decided to invite
about twentyteachers, supervisors and science educators as conference participants.
They would bring knowledge of the nature of children and of the teaching task to

ERLC

4o

51

PLANET EARTH: A CONFERENCE 157

the conference, providing a point of reality that would ensure that the understand-
ings identified by the conference would indeed be those that every 17-year-old
could know and understand. The educators were selected on the basis of the quality
of their science backgrounds and their records for leadership in their own school
s\ stems and nationally . In addition, care was taken to ensure representation geo-
graph icalK , In grade le\el taught, and by role within the educational establishment.
As a lesult there were elementary, middle school and high school teachers, ^tate
level science consultants and university science educators represented among the
Pvirticipants. The educators found their own sources of support for the conference
primviriU trom their school systems .md universities. ACil received a gram from
the Science and Hngineeiing liducation (Sl-.L.) i>iireeioraic of NSb to co\er the
jdminisir.iti\e :md logistic costs.

I he conlerence. iherefoie. had a naiion.il p^ r^pcciiN e resulting Irom pai iicipaiion
ot scientists trom three science agencies ca^h aiiIi a national misMon (NAS/\.
I S(iS. mk\ NOAA); vucntisis fr^nn uni\ eisuics m Oregon. California, South
Carolina. Massachusetts, jnd Oklahoma; science eduuiiors horn uni\ersities in
Minnesoij. Missiuiri. and Ohio: and supervisors ;ind teuchers from Washington.
Idaho. California. Ie\as. Michigan. Ohio. North Carohna. \"irginia. and New
York, lis conchisiiMis. iherefore. can indeed represent a naiiiMul agenda for re-
lormnie what is taught .ibout Planet liiwih in our nation's schools.

/ he Coiilvrcncc C //(//;i,'c'

It h.id been o\er twenty years since ihe-scicnce ctMiimumty had been cioscK
iiuoKed 'Aith educators in identifying the concepts in the e.iith science disciplines
th;a should be taught K-12. Because of the technical advances provided during
that time in djta gathering iind prcK'cssing and the !niensi\e investigations of the
earth system, our knowledge of Planet Earth had changed dramatically. The charge
to the conference was to identify thc^se understandings about Phinet Earth that
every citizen needs to know in order to live a responsible and productive life in
our democracy.

In attempting to fulfill the charge, the keynote speaker. Dr, F. James Rutherford.
Director of Project 2{)6\ of the American Asstuaation for the Advancement of
Science, cautioned the participants to a\oid the usual pitfalls of such efforts. He
advised the grcuip to discuss curriculum, not courses; not to buy in to the status
c;uv) of the existing curriculum structure but to consider the place of earth concepts
in the total purview of science. Identify the concepts or processes that are important
for the well being of citizens, not those that might contribute at some later undefined
time to the understanding of some equally ha/ily defined goals. Rutherford is
concerned, as are many science educators, that the current science curriculum is
"bloated and overstuffed,** Students are required to memorize a vast array of trivia,
most of which is forgotten soon after the test. He warned the participants not to
add to that problem. In deciding on what new concepts to include, participants
should also decide what old concepts should be eliminated from the curriculum.
This trade-off always needs to be in mind. In addition, the elements identified for
inclusion must contribute to the general aims of education.

ERLC

158 MAYER AND ARMSTRONG

Rutherford emphasized the need for curriculum to reflect the current require-
ments of our social and economic systems and the basic understanding of the nature
of scientific investigation. The various science disciplines are now intimately in-
tertwined. Mathematics is the essential tool of modern science. More and more
science is applied in industry and defense. Citizens must develop a fuller under-
standing of how technology is used in our society. They must have a clear under-
standing of evidence as the real authority in science, of the power of theories in
the investigation of nature, of science as a conservative enterprise requiring re
licaiion and openness. There needs to be a focus on the unifying themes, such as
s\siems, models, and evolution.

In choosing facts and concepts he warned participants not to fall into the trap
of ''watering down" ideas from the sophisticated ideas that ''all scientists must
understand." Instead, ideniily what is lundamenlaL then build on that structure.
Rutherford suggested several criteria that should be applied in making judgements
regarding possible curricular elements:

I W hat IS ihc sciciUitic sieiiificince ' Will the coiucpl or lact siill be around mi
the eencr.itiiMV'

1. What is the human siiznificancc o\ the idea? Mow docs it atlcct or intlucncc
citizens?

V What IS tlio philosopliical pmvcr of the ido i ' How does it contribute to our
utuiersiandmg of the world*

4. What IS Its current im[^(Htanee to our social and economic well-being?

5. How does it contiibute to persona! eniiehment? Does it make the world of the
pre-lS \ear-old mote interesting.'

Rutherford concluded with se\eral general suggestions, lie in\ited the earth
science education community to join in the total school reform movement. This is
one of those times in history when it is possible to reconstruct the educational
s\stem. He encouraged all to participate in designing the system of tomorrow.
Think K-12, infiltrating tlie entire curriculum with Planet Earth concepts. Empha-
size the concrete, how things work, the d\namics of the earth system. Feature the
connections to the other sciences. Make those sciences more interesting to students
by showing how they can be applied to Planet Earth problems or concepts. Gi\e
priority to ideas and methods rather than words. Beware of authoritarianism, be
open to the inclusion of new concepts, ready to discard the old.

Organizalion

As soon as each scientist was identified he/she was sent a letter requesting the
developinent of a short, three-page paper outlining his/her preliminary ideas re-
garding what every high school graduate should know about her/his field of inquiry.
They were then compiled and sent to each of the participants about one week prior
to the beginning of the conference. These papers provided the focus for the first
round of discussions. Scientists were assigned to one of four groups based upon

53

ERIC

PLANET EARTH: A CONFERENCE 159

ihcir specialty. An equal number of educators were assigned to the groups such
that each scientist was teamed with an educator. Each of the resulting groups of
about eight individuals each were led by a facilitator. Each group was to reach
consensus on the goals and concepts regarding Planet Earth to be included in the
education of every citi/en. Each day started with a presentation to the entire group.
Rutherford's kevnt)ie address was followed on the next day by a talk by Dr. Audrey
Champagne from the Office of Science and Technology Education of the AA AS.
It focussed on learning problems afforded by misconceptions or naive theories. On
the third day. Dr. Dallas FVck. Director of the United States Geological Survey,
presented a'lalk cHitlining his perception of the place of the earth sciences in the
general education of luir citizenv The general presentation was followed each day
in- two small group sessimis. one immediately after the talk and the other following
ilie lunch break. Participants were brought together again at the end of the after-
noon for two one-half hour presentations by participants on topics of general
interest.

.\t the end ot each da\ the small gioups recorded the results of their diseussuMis.
These were t\ped ivproduced and made asailable for their deliberations the fol-
lowing dav. On the third day of ibe conference, the groups were reassembled such
that each of the new groups included an educator-scientist team from each of ihe
previous groups. The charge to three of the groups was to integrate the conclusions
from all four groups into a single set of recommendations. This resulted in three
\ersions. On the afternoon of the fourth day of the conference these three versions
were integrated by the total group through the use of group dsnamics p-ocesses,
such that^consensus was reached on each aspect of the framework that resulted.
Ihe fourth group was asked to de\elop a set of guidelines for the de\elopment ot
A senior high school earth s\stcms course.

On the morning of ibe fifth dav , nnist of the educators assembled to put the
finishing touches on the conclusions of the conference. At this session wordings of
the goals and concepts were agreed upon, and a preamble for the conclusions was
developed.

Conference Results

Following arc the results of the conference. Minor editing has been done to
improve reading style, but the substance remains identical to that agreed to by the
participants.

Preamble

As the 21st Century dawns, we find ourselves in the midst of a revolution in our
knowledge concerning Planet Earth. It is imperative that every 17-ycar-old develop
an undcrManding of Earth concepts as well as appreciate the beauty of the Planet
Earth.

The Earth seen from space is both metaphor and reality of a deepening con-
sciousness of the integrated view of our planet necessary for its successful stew-

4;:.

mum mum

160 MAYER AND ARMSTRONG

ardship. Catalyzed by an accelerating technology, a holistic view incorporating
dynamic images and ideas provides incredible opportunities to ignite the imagi-
nation of American students.

Our report outlines the goals and concepts that are a prerequisite for an evolving
21st century view of Planet Earth. To imbue this framework with the spirit of
revolution intended, educators should recognize the importance of the following
issues:

1 . Fimphasi/c K'(^

2. Demand a haiuK-im. in\cstiiiati\e approach

3. [iiicouragc a -id include minorities and wiunen throughout iho process

4. IntCiirate the \arunis science disciplines and emphasi/e i:ei^i:ra[">hic ideas

5. (nciKporate more mathematics. eom[niteis and emereine technologies
Develop issue oi icnted Case studies

linoKe pafi^nls and the ci>nmTmit\
S. C\iptui'e the e\citement and \uu oi learnmvi about Planet L:arth

Goals

sc u M inc I \u a ( ,111 . Each citi/en will he able to understand the nature of scientific
inquiry u^iiiii the historical, descriptne and e\perimenlal
processes of the eaith sciences.

KNOW! I \H>\ . I'.ach citi/en \mI1 be able to describe and e\plain earth processes and
feature^ and anticipate changes in them.

sn-w AKHsHiP. [:ach citizen \m1I be able to respond in an informed way to envi-
ronmental and resource issues,

APPF<i ciAtios Each citizen will be able to de\elop an aesthetic appreciation of
the earth.

Concepts

1. The earth s\stem is a sn^ill part of a solar system \uthm the vast universe.
The sun is the primary source of Earth's energy.
The sun is one of the billions of stars in the universe.
The moon and Earth affect each other.

All bodies in space (including Earth) are influenced by processes acting
throughout the solar system and the universe.

The nature of each planet is determined by its position in the solar system
and by its size.

PLANET EARTH: A CONFERENCE 161

I'hc poNition and mouon of [•.aith with rcNpcct to the sun influence tides.
NeuMMiN. climates, etc.

2. The earth s\slem rs comprised the interacting MibssMems water, land,
ice. air and life.

Water exists as a \apor, luiuul and M>|id and changes form as a result ot
changes in energy.

(Vo.ins are in oMist.mt motion huI ,iiv a lesource that cmcrs oxer liV ( o\
the planet.

Ihc cr\ospherc (fitven uaierr is .m I aith subs\sum that has \.ii\ing sca-
M»ii.:! .'.nd global distnbution

AtmosplK-ric ciiciilation is dii\en b\ sol.ir hciting and moditied b\ intci
actK'is with othci subs\stcinv

I he -ohd earth (iilhospheie. aMhLnt>spherc ) mtcr.icts with the h>drospiK're.
atmosphere, cr\ospiiere and biosphere.

The b;ovplKre inteiacts with otlici subs\ stems.

I Ik- sun IS .1 ma)or soiiiee ol eneig> th;it infhrences the earth s\steni

C'leoiheiinjl L'nerg\ inl"hi*,MUcs the iKn.imicsol e^iith s\ stems.

[-.icli component of the eartli s\ste:ii has characteristie properties, stiuclure
and uMiiposition.

3. The earth's subsystems (water, land. ice. air and hie) are continuously e\o!\ini!.
changing and interacting through natural processes and cycles.

Water e\cles through the subs\ stems.

The i^uler layer of the solid eaith is ccMtiposed o{ plates which arc and ha\e
been m motion.

All new rocks are deri\ed fixMii old rocks by rec\cling.

Major examples of the interaction between components of the earth system
are the hydrologic cycle, rock cycle, carbon cycle, glacial cycle, trophic cycle.

4, The earth's natural processes take place over periods of lime from billions of
years to fractions of seconds.

Phssical processes in the universe range over lime scales of seconds to billions
o{ \ears and over very great distances.

^ mmfumum

162 MAYER AND ARMSTRONG

I-iirlli IS more ihan 4 hillic^n years old aiul is continualK c\(^l\ing.

The atmosphere is a tliin. jirolectixe blanket composed of \arioiis gases and
other substances that e\ol\c o\er geologic time.

F-ossi|s are the c\idence that the biosphere has e\c^Ked interact i\el\ with
the earth o\er geokigic time.

LiNolution resuhs in a sequence of unique historical changes of I:arth's sub-
s\slenis. hnr exanijile: clianges in atmospheric composition, changes in hfc
torms. changes in structure of the solid earth, changes in the composition
of the hydrosphere.

Time seale> tor Liarth changes are \ariable. f*or e\a.m|'>le:
l.ong'teim e\ oluiii)n of the solid earth and atmwsjMieie (4.5 • >ears)

e\olution o\ life (4 ■ lO' \ears)
break-up of I\ingaea 5(1. S - ID ) \ears
ice ages

extinction oi plants and animals

drought

seasons

daiK weather

nuclciir reaetKMis

Short-term chemical reactions

5. Man\ parts of the earth's subsv stems are limited and sulnerahle to overuse,
misuse, or change resuhing trom human acti\it\. Lxtimples of such lesources
are fossil fuels, minerals, fresh water, soils, flora and fauna.

(\ The better we understand the subsystems, the better we can manage our re-
sources. Ihnnans use liarth resources such as minerals and water.

7. Human activities, both conscious and iiitidvertent. impact Earth >jbs\siems

fiuman use activities influence the:
hydrosphere and \ice \ersa.
crNosphere and \ icc \ersa.
atmosphere and \ice versa.

lithosphcre and \ ice \ersa (mining, lia/.ards. etc.)
biosphere and \ icc \ersa

Human activities exert inordinate impact on the global environment. Human
activities alter Earth's components such as burning fossil fuels, improper
land use. war and war preparations, releasing hazardous chemicals and ra*
dioacti\e materials, releasing and disposing hazardous materials, extinction
of species.

57

PLANET EARTH: A CONFERENCE 163

8. A better understanding of the subs\stems stimulates greater aesthetic appre-
ciation.

Humans appreciate and manage the Earth by preservation, appropriate uti-
Hzation and restoration. For example: natural parks, reclamation, conser-
vation, recreation, legislation, land managment and planning, international
to local cooperation.

9. The development of technolog\ has increased and will continue to increase
our ability to understand Earth.

Technology has improved our ability to understand the earth. For example:
optical and electronic microscopes, optical and radiotelcscopes, infrared
sensing, doppler radar, submersibles. satellites, computers.

10. Earth scientists are people who stud\ the origin, processes, and evolution of
Earth's subs>stem;>; the\ use their specialized understanding to identif> re-
sources and estimate the likelihood of future events.

Obsersations of the atmosphere are used to forecast weather.

Maps are scale models of the Earth

Knowledge of other planets helps us understand the r.arlh

Analysis of Conference Results

On the last day, during the final editing of ihc conference recommendation-^,
someone asked whether the results were an\ different than those from similar
conferences held twenty years ago. Seseral of the educators were familiar with the
Earth Science Curriculum Project, the last major effort in earth science curriculum
renewal. They felt that the differences were dramatic. Content relating to the third
goal, stewardship, was hardly considered for inclusion m the ESCP materials. Goal
four, aesthetic appreciation of the earth, would not have been thought of as ap-
propriate when considering science curriculum. It is clear that the scientific com-
iiuinity has changed in its attitudes and \alues in the ensuing years.

The results of this conference are consistent with current mo\enients in science
curriculum revision that are exemplified by Project 2061. The participant: were
not only able to think beyond the current goals of science and science teaching,
but to go beyond them in a creative and enthusiastic manner. The recommendations
reflect the challenge that Rutherford made in his opening talk to not be bound b)
the past and to think creatively as to what curriculum can be. Thus they in turn
challenge the science education comniunity to develop a curriculum that is dra-
matically different, one that adequately incorporates a modern knowledge of Planet
Earth, the manner m which we investigate our home, the implications of technology
for our future habitat and an appreciation for the beauty implicit in our earth

164 MAYfciR AND ARMSTRONG

systems. Science educators are challenged to incorporate an understanding of stu-
dents and how they come to investigate the earth into planning future curriculum
and teaching.

The Next Steps

This conference represents the first national effort in over twenty years to involve
geoscientists in a significant way in the identification of appropriate curriculum
content regarding Planet Earth. As such it is a first step. The framework developed
by the conference must now be translated for the use of classroom teachers, text-
book publishers, test developers and curriculum specialists. This will require the
cooperation of many different organizations and individuals in science, science
education, and educational poHcy development and implementation.

References

American Association fur the AcKcincomont ol Science ( IW^. Scu'/uc lor Ml Ann'ru(ii}\

Washington. DC: AAAS.
Mayer. Victor j. (19SS). Lanh S\ Mcnis f 'duaKion A .Vcn l\T\fHrii\c on Vhinci l.anh ami

ihc Science CurncidKni. Columbus. OH: The Ohio St.ik* l"ni\ersi(\ Research I-oundation

Accepted for publication September IVSW

Appendix

C \>nfcrcncc Cooniiiutiors

i)r. Ronald li, Armstrong
South Glens Falls School Disiriei
South (Hens F'alls, NV 12Sl)l

Dr. Victor J. Mayer
The Ohio Stale Uiii\crsit\
1^)45 North High Street
Columbus, Oil 43210

Group I'adlitators

Dr. l.loyd Fi. Barrow, Department of Science Hducaiion
University of Missouri-Columbia

Ms, Jane N. Crowder, Earth Science Teacher
Isaquah (WA) Public Schools

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53

59

PLANET EARTH: A CONFERENCE 165

Dv. I-rcd N. I'inlcy. C'lirriciiluiii and lnsiriicl»oii Dc|xirtmcnt
University i)( Minnesoia

f)r. Alio KtM'poraai. COnsuliani. Science lulueali(Ui
I .i)s Angeles C'nunU Ollice oi bduealion

Parliniuifils

A cdinplele list o\' parlicijxmiN can lu* (^hiainetl lioni the authors.

Reproduced wilh permission from Science Education (74(2)). Copyright 1990.
by ilic John Wiley &. Sons, Inc., New York, New York.

AA

NAAEE

NO RTH AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION FOR

A Place for EE

in the

Restructured Science Curriculum

L N y I RONMBNTA L

Rosanne W. Fortner, The Ohio State University

Reprinted from Baldwin, J. H. (ed.), 1991. Confronting environtnental challenges in a changing world, Troy, OH:
North American Association for Environmental Education.

No

ERIC

^either environmental education (EE) nor any of il:*
predecessors or variants has traditionally had a cunricular
home of its own," wrote Disinger in his 1989 report of a
national survey of EE in U.S. schools. Perhaps this is because
environmental educators have insisted that environment
belongs to Llie total curriculum, with a place in eveiy subject
and grade (Simmons, 1989), and therefore appropriate niches
have been sought thioughout Llic available curriculum. The
benefits of such an infusion approach are numerous in light
of iJie swinging pendulum of educational interest: infused EE
is not seen as an additional burden on the overstuffed
curriculum, nor is it as vulnerable when other priorities or
budget constraints decree that something has to go.
Philosophically, infusion confirms the interdisciplinarity of
EE iind its importance in relation to all aspects of human
existence.

''The existing science curriculum is
now under scrutiny for purposes of
restructure^ and questions should
arise about where EE will fit in any
new scheme that develops.'^

Indeed, Disi ngcr's ( 1 989) survey confirmed that infusion
is the most common form in which EE is practiced in U.S.
schcx>ls. As for the impact of tliis approach over time, few
studies have been conducted. Taylor and Fortner (1989),
however, found in a statewide survey of Ohio secondar>'
schools that from 1982 to 1986 twice as many schools had
dropped EE courses as had added them. The greatest number
of infused EE topics in that study v^-ere in earth science
courses.

The existing science curriculum, is now under scrutiny
for purposes of restructure, iind questions should arise about
where EE will fit in any new sc heme that develops. The most
extensive efforts underway are Project 2()61 (AAAS, 1989)
and NSTA\s Scope, Sequence and Coordination (SS&C,
1991). In 2()61, Phase I, disciplinary groups identified what
every 17-year-old should know about science upon leaving
high school. The environment enters consideration only

piecemeal as discrete disciplinary science content, but some
of the implementation efforts in Phase II are exploring topics
such as wateras an integrating theme. InSS&C,environmenta*
education has a potential place because of planned emphases
on cross-disciplinary teaching. Hence, EE could find a home
in SS&C's treatment of ENERGY, among other topics. How
SS&C would implement curriculum restructure is still
uncertain, and there has been a general lack of consideration
of Earth in initial planning.

Instead of "fitting in" to the plans of others with multiple
agendas for science education, perhaps *'the time is ripe for
environmental educators to move aggressively into the
dialogues and help the public and the educational
establishment see how the ideas environmental educators
have been wrestling with can be incorporated into the very
core of arevampededucational system!' (Roth, 1988;emphasis
added).

Another, lesser known but equally ambitio us, curriculum
restructuring effort invites such an opportunity. Earth Systems
Education (ESE) is an effort that has arisen out of tiie
interaction of geoscientists, science educators and teachers
who feel that the time has come for Earth to resume its
appropriate jKJsition as the focus of science learning. After
all , it was attempts to learn about the Earth that were the origin
of all of the sciences as we know them. We have come loo far
from those origins, and now face the problems of learning
science facts dissociated from the realities of human
interactions with Earth.

^^..Ahe time has come for Earth to
resume its appropriate position as
the focus of science learning.^^

Beginning with a prior synthesis of concepts from a
conference of geoscientists and educators (Mayer and
Armstrong, 1990), and adding the Earth systems concepts of
Project 2()61, a 'Tramework for Earth Systems Education"
(Figure 1 ) has been developed (Mayer, 1 99 1 ). The Framework
identifies the reason for environmental education as the first
Understanding, essentially, "we've got a great place here.**

6J

ThisUndcrsiandingsLrcsscsihc creativity of the human spirit
and sees science as a creative human endeavor. By focusing
on students' feelings toward the Earth system, the way in
which ihey experience and interpret those feelings, they are
drawn into a systematic study oPiheir planet. Underslanding
#2 is the mission of ER, namely Earth stewardship. The
subject matter of EE is embodied in Understandings #4 and
#5, imd piirt of its approach is in #3.

These seven critical understandings are the ba^sis of the
Program forLc^idership in EarthSystems Education (PLESE),
developed at The Ohio State University and supported by the
National Science Foundation's Teacher Enhancement funds.
From 1990-93, teacher Ic^iders, administrators, and college
liaisons arc piiriicipaling in summer programs at Ohio Slate
and iho University of Northern Colorado, and then bringing
the ESE notion and implementation ideas back to their local
areas for additional outreach into the K- 12 curriculum. The
Undersuindings arc used to structure the enhancement and
follow-up workshops and to select materials for implementing
Earth S> stems Education in various parts of llie country.

For environmental educators, ES E offers a content home,
and many feel a content base is critical to EE program
longevity (Warfield, 1981). It offers a K-12 design,
interdisciplinary approach, and combination of humanities,
science, and technology asadvocated specifically in A /Vafion
ai Risk. ESE is seen as being taught best through col laborati ve
Icaming techniques, another positive aspect for EE, since
such approaches simulate the kinds of interactions common
among decisionmakers in both science and public policy.
The scientific methods used in ESE include not only the
traditional experimenial approach but the historical methai.
At best experiments are only simulations of how scientists

work, and most environmental problems do not lend
themselves well to experimentation. More appropriately,
ESE emphasi/xs the analysis of records of continuously
collected data and what they reveal about patterns of Earth
processes. With the advent of computer and CD-ROM
technology, students can now use the same data scientists
manipulate to study the phenomena of the Earth subsystems:
biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
Classroom technologies are being explored for use in ESE
applications.

^^For environmental educators,
ESE offers a content home, and
many feel a content base is critical
to EE program longevity

Dramatic changes occurring in science and in science
education, and impacts of human uses of technology and the
environment,require thatenvironmental education be a major
component of the resu-uctured curriculum. We must develop
a citi/xnry that understands the functions and limitations of
sc icnce and technology as they impact the Earth and li fc upon
it. Earth Systems Education is an opportunity for reaching
these goals. According to Mayer (1991), "As a first step it
provides for infusing planet Earth concepts into all levels of
the K-12 science curriculum. For the long run it provides an
organizing theme for a K-12 integrated science curriculum
thatcould effectively serve theobjectivesof scientific literacy

Figure 1. Framework for Earth Systems Education

Understanding #1.
Understanding #2.

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Earth is tinique, a planet of r^ire beauty and great value.
Human activities, collective and individual, conscious and inadvertent,
are seriously impacting planet Earth,
i Undcrstandin^u #3. The development of scientific thinking and technology increases our

ability to understand and utilize Earth and space.
• Understanding #4. The Earth system is composed of the interacting subsystems of water,
land, ice, air, and life.

Planet Earth is more than 4 billion years old and its subsystems are
continually evolving.

Eanh is a small subsystem of a sohir system within the vast and ancient
universe.

There are many people with careers that involve study of Earth's
origin, processes, and evolution.

5

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I Understanding #5.
j Understanding #6.
j Understanding #7.

and at tiie same lime provide a basis for the recruitment of
talent into science and technology careers, helping to ensure
appropriate economic development consistent with
maintaining a quality environment" (p. 20).

References cited

American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Project206I : Science for all Americans. Washington,
DC: Author.

DisingcrJohnF. 1989. The current status of environmental
education in U.S. school curricula. Contemporary
Education a)0):\26A36.

Mayer, V ic tor J . 1991. Earth systems educa tion : Origins and
t>pporrwA2/ae.v. Columbus: OSU Research Foundation.

Mayer, Victor J. and Ronald E. Armstrong. 1990. What
every 1 7-ycar-old should know about Planet Earth: A
report of a conference of educators and gcoscientists.
Science Education 74(2): 155- 165.

Roth, Charles E. 1988. The endangered phoenix: Lessons
from the fircpit. Journal of Environmental Education
19(3):3-9.

Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary Scfwol
Science. Volume I. The Content Core. A Guide for
Curriculum Designers. 1992. Washington, DC:
National Science Teachers Association.

Simmons, Deborah. 1989. More infusion confusion: A look
at EE curriculum materials. Journal of Environmental
Education 20(4): 15- 18.

Taylor, Timothy and Rosannc Former. 1989. Environmental
education efforts in Ohio high schools in the 1980s,
Ohio Journal of Science 89(4):98-101.

Warfield, John N. 1981. Designs for the future of
Environmental Education. Washington, DC: U.S.
Dcparunent of Education.

Down to Earth Biology

A Planetary Perspective for the Biology Curriculum

Rosanne W. Fortner

INCREASED attention to the biosphere's relationship
to the other Earth subsystems — hydrosphere, litho-
sphere, atmosphere — could help enhance student
understanding in biology. Recent international com-
parison studies do not ei eak well for levels of biology
achievement in the United States. Our 13 year olds
ranked ninth out of 12 countries/provinces in the life
sciences. Even our advanced students in second-year
biology place at the bottom of a list of 14 countries
(jacobson & Doran 1988). The literature of science
education is a further reminder that all is not well
within the biologv curriculum. Studies of naive con-
ceptions demonstrate a lack of basic understanding of
concepts such as nutrient cycling, natural selection
(Greene 1990) and the water cycle (Bar 1989). A
number of these difficulties rest at the interface of
biology and Earth sciences.

Bringing biologv "down to Earth" might also be the
key to making sound decisions on matters of national
policy and international assistance. Deforestation, for
example, is an atmospheric issue, not just a biological
one; ozone depletion creates human health problems;
abuses of the ocean are manifested in human habitats
and marine mammal welfare; and an understanding
of organic evolution rests on a fundamental aware-
ness of "deep time," describing the great ago of Earth
as revealed through its geologic structure.

The Earth system can become the conceptual base
of the s 'ience curriculum and play a major role in the
restructuring efforts now underway through the
American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence's Project 2061 and the National Science Teachers
Association's Scope, Sequence and Coordination.
When our leaders need to apply the results of biolog-
ical research in making decisions, the earth sciences
can offer a unique perspective and body of knowl-
edge.

According to Vic Mayer, leading advocate of a
modern movement in earth system.s education (May-
er 1991a), contributions of earth science to the K-12
curriculum take at least three forms;

Rosanne W. Fortner teaches in the School of Natural Resources
at Ohto State University, 2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus. OH 43210.

• Philosophical — how we think about the position
and role of humans in the universe

• Methodological — how we investigate our sur-
roundings

• Conceptual — what we know about our world and
how it functions.

The purpose of this article is to explore examples of
how the biology curriculum could build upon these
contributions to achieve greater relevance for stu-
dents and greater value as a basis for decision mak-
ing.

Philosophical Contributions

One of the major obstacles to acceptance of evolu-
tion as a valid scientific concept is a lack of under-
standing of the age of the Earth. Before James Hutton
wrote Theory of the Earth in 1795, the planet was
assumed to be only about 6000 years old. It was
Hutton who introduced the concept of deep time.
Earth processes like those in action today have been
going on throughout the history of the planet, and
this concept of "the present is the key to the past"
(Lvell 1830-1833) forms the basis for all our studies of
the Earth. Charles Darwin accepted this idea and
applied it in developing his theory of organic evolu-
tion.

In accepting the Earth as being of great age one can
reject the idea that the world was created specifically
for human use. We now understand the planet
evolved over billions of years, and the human species
is a verv recent result of a biological evolution.
Because some species have become extinct along the
wav, there is reason enough to believe that we may
not be the ultimate and culminating product of the
evolutionary process!

TVie place of deep time in the science curriculum is
cle.ir, but the methods for getting it there are not
simple. Frequently the concept is taught by analogy.
For example, Mark Twain likened the Earth's history
10 the height of the Eiffel Tower, with human history
represented by the skin of paint on the top of the
highest pinnacle-knob. Teachers often put great cre-
ative effort into teaching about the great expanse of
time. One teacher has the students in all his classes
count dots printed on sheets of paper. When a page
is finished, it is taped to the wall. By the day's end all

76 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER. VOLUME 54, NO. 2. FEBRUARY 1992 0 Q

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the walls are full, and only 1 million have been
counted.

Methodological Contributions

For decades the science curriculunn has been teach-
ing people the scientific method— the scientific
nnethod, translated as how to conduct a proper ex-
periment. Indeed, we can trace many of the major
achievements and bodies of knowledge in biology to
experiments: Mendelian genetics, the germ theory of
disease, biological clocks, recombinant DNA and the
like. Of course, there are many instances when
experimentation is the preferred means of data acqui-
sition. An observation leads to a hypothesis, data are
collected by manipulating some variables while oth-
ers are held constant, data are analyzed and the
hypothesis is accepted or rejected. If Joseph Lister
had not experimented to control variables, physicians
might still be doing excellent surgery but watching
patients die as they did before experiments in aseptic
medical procedures. We could be growing mice by
Needham's recipe — putting old rags and corn in a
barn, whereupon mice arise!

It is a disservice to students, however, to convince
them by rote or by example that there is only one
method of doing science. Science is characterized by
the gathering and analysis of real world data to learn
how the world operates. Darwin didn't arrive at his
theory of organic evolution by experimentation but
by analysis of descriptive data. We would never
intentionally experiment to find out what would
happen to a population of wild birds if the birds'
entire habitat were destroyed; instead we study ex-
amples of how habitat loss has affected other bird
species and compare those with the circumstances of
the species in question.

Data are frequently available to study phenomena
we can't control in space or time. "Hands-on" science
can be done with such historical and descriptive data
from existing sources. For example, one can chart
changes in stream macroinvertebrate populations
over time or study tombstones to compare the life
spans of people at different times in the past.

Historical data continue to make their way into
modern science news because stud ies of the accumu-
lating records of the Earth, both the living and the
nonliving parts, assist us in charting tr-ends and
making predictions about the future. That living
things influence and are influenced by their environ-
ment is a basic concept in biology. The "wood cook-
ies" (tree cross-sections) common in life science class-
rooms are used to find the age of trees and make
inferences about their environments. Modern inter-
pretation of tree rings correlates ring width with
climate conditions and helps scientists identify recur-
rent patterns of weather. Other organisms reflect

characteristics of their environment in their growth
rings as well: tortoises' shell sections, fish scales and
otoliths, bands of chemical deposits in reef building
corals. Global weather signals may emerge when
several biological sources of historic climate data are
compared. What we use are data sets of Earth's
history, reaching back into deep time and continuing
into the future. And because all these data sets are
continuously accruing, predictions about tomorrow
can be evaluated through monitoring of the changes
occurring now. The biological concepts derived from
the study of such data are not the results of experi-
mentation but of historical methods used by the Earth
scientist.

The changes identified through historical data may
be of a time scale of thousands to millions of years, as
in evolution, or a time scale of decades to centuries,
as in primary succession, or one of days to years, as
in tortoise growth. A National Science Foundation-
sponsored project at Ohio State University is devel-
oping "Secondary Science Curriculum Modules for
Global Change Education," which involves the his-
torical method and various time scales.

By interpreting data from animal and plant growth,
students can see how the growing conditions of
Earth's climate have changed in the recent past. By
comparing more recent biological data with ice cores
from world glaciers, students see that the glaciers
preserve a longer time scale or deeper time, leading
them to consider if a recurring trend may be in
progress. Another activity uses a time scale on the
order of decades, using the historical catch of striped
bass in the North Atlantic to explore reasons for the
recent lack of fishing success noted in singer Billy
Joel's "Downeaster Alexa."

Conceptual Contributions

Increasing applications of satellite imagery in the
media, in textbooks and even as art forms show that
a genuine "worid view" is within our grasp. We can
see the Earth as a system with all its parts intercon-
nected. Sophisticated satellites with a wide array of
image processing options can observe Earth's biolog-
ical, geological, chemical and physical aspects and
their changes. We receive the satellite information,
process it through the imaging software, untangle the
data with supercomputers and then share the data
with scientists in many parts of the world almost as
quickly as it is received. Our communications and
data processing capabilities are staggering. The
smoke from forest fires in Rondonia, the dried vege-
tation of drought-stricken California and the produc-
tivity of ocean surface waters are all known to us by
degree and extent from space platforms many miles
above the surface of the planet.

Partly as a result of this world view, scientists from

65

EARTH BIOLOGY 77

Fig 1. The 7 basic understandings in the Framework for
Earth Systems Education.*

• Earth is unique, a planet of rare beauty and great value.

• Human activities, collective and individual, conscious
and inadvertent, are seriously impacting planet Earth.

• The development of scientific thinking and technology
increases our ability to understand and utilize Earth and
space.

•The Earth system is comprised of the interacting
subsystems of water, land, ice, air and life.

• Planet Earth is more than 4 billion years old, and its
subsystems are continually evolving.

• Earth is a small subsystem of a solar system within the
vast and ancient universe.

• There are manv people with careers that involve study
of Earth's origin, processes and evolution.

"Courtes}' of Ohio State University. Complete Framework
available in Mayer, \'.J. (1991b). A Framework for Earth
Svstems Education. Science Act ivitic<r 2S{\).

all disciplines are beginning to treat the Earth as a
svstem. We prepare global climate models, organize
VVorldwatch expeditions and report threats to biolog-
ical diversity in terms of worldwide losses. The
nations of the world unite to save whales stuck in the
ice and to put out fires in flaming oil wells. Perhaps
we have begun to see that ours is a collective future.
The more we learn about Earth, the more we come to
understand how closely its subsystems — the bio-
sphere, hydrosphere, lithosphcre, atmosphere and
cryosphere — are intertwined in the production of and
response to global changes. What affects one sub-
system ultimately affects them all. It has also become
more apparent from our views of earth that human-
kind has been an important agent of change in the
past, and probably will continue to be in the future.
With the historical data showing our impact in the
past, and the signs of our more recent effects, we can
more accurately project trends of potential changes
on Earth that are attributable to human activity.

Getting Down to Earth

To bring these new technologies and the resulting
awareness of connections into the classroom, instruc-
tors can use the spectacular satellite images available
from the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. An excellent set of diverse images
from these agencies is available, with interpretation,
as "Oceanography from Space" (NASA 1989). Addi-
tional information sources are becoming more acces-
sible as well, in the form of compact disc — "read
only" memory (CD-ROM) technology. In a Joint
Educational Initiative (JEdl), images and databases
from the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA and NOAA
have been combined on three 700-megabyte CDs to

66

78 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 54. NO. 2. FEBR

demonstrate the use of such scientific research tools
in the classroom (Sproull 1991). Not only can stu-
dents examine satellite photos of the Yellowstone
fires, they can detect the vegetation differences of
biomes thrc")ugh the seasons, model coastal flooding
to see the extent of wetland loss and compare ozone
leyels in their local region with those of Antarctica.
Other biology CDs, with widely var\'ing prices and
degrees of user-friendliness, include bibliographic
databases on "Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries,"
"Wildlife and Fish Worldwide," the "Life Sciences
Collection" and the "Natural Resources Metabase,"
covering more than 45 government databases. CDs
with images as data include "Audobon's Birds of
America," complete with bird calls; "Mammals: A
Multimedia Encyclopedia," including animations and
a game; and "Down to Earth" clip art for desktop
publishing. (A list of selected CDs and sources is
available from the author.)

Many science teachers are aware of the electronic
networking that is bringing classrooms together
through the National Geographic KidsNet. That con-
cept is growing in popularity as a means of sharing
data about local environmental quality. The Backyard
Acid Rain Kit (BARK) from Canada and the Global
Ri\'ers Environmental Education Network (GREEN)
from the University of Michigan are among new
attempts to involve students in the actiye process of
data collection, sharing and analysis, under condi-
tions in which the correct answers to problems are
unknown. The student's world view^ is built from
within, as it should be, with relevance first to home
and then to the rest of the world.

The interrelationships apparent from the world
\'iew technologies must enter the science curriculum
at all levels. In the restructuring efforts underway at
the national level, many of the implementation mod-
els are interdisciplinary ones. A strong focus on
understanding the Earth can enrich the science cur-
riculum and give it a relevance that will encourage
more student interest in science careers.

Teachers who are ready to get "down to Earth" will
be assisted by a Framework for Earth Systems Edu-
cation, developed and validated by scientists, teach-
ers and science educators nationally (Figure 1). The
developers feel that the Framework embodies the big
understandings that all students should have about
the Earth, whether they are learned in biology
classes, environmental education, geography or art.
An NSF-sponsored Program for Leadership in Earth
Systems Education (PLESE) at Ohio State University
(Mayer, in press) is enhancing teachers' abilities to
use interdisciplinary studies of Earth to enrich their
science curricula as well as to provide a more realistic
look at how scientists function. Ultimately, the goal is
a future in which decision makers champion the
Earth in their political and economic choices.

f 1992

6 J

References

Bar, V. (1989). Children's views about the water cycle.
Science Education, 73(4), 481-500.

Fortner, R.W. (1991). Global change education technology fact
sheets (#10, On-line data sharing networks; #13/ CD-
ROM; #12. Getting to know—JEdl) Columbus, OH: Ohio
State University. (Free with postpaid envelope).

Greene, E.D., Jr. (1990). The logic of students' misunder-
standing of natural selection, journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 27(9), 87S-885.

Hutton, J. (1795). Theoni of the Earth with proof'i^ and illustra-
tions. Edinburgh: William Creech.

Jacobson, W.J. & Doran, R.L. (1988). Science achievement in
the United States and sixteen countries. New York: Teacher's
College, Columbia University.

Lyell, C. (1830-1833). Principles of geology, being and attempt
to explain the former changes of the Earth's surface by reference
to causes noio in operation. London: John Murray.

Mayer, V.J. (1991a). Earth -systems science. The Science
Teacher, 55(1), 34-39.

Mayer, V.J. (1991b). A framework for Earth Systems Edu-
cation, Science Activities, 28{\), 8-9.

Mayer, V.J. (in press). The role of planet Earth in the new
science curriculum, journal of Geological Education.

National Aeronautic and Space Administration. (1989).
Oceanography from space (photo set with interpretation).
Washington, DC: Author.

SprouU, J. (1991). Advanced technologies for the study of
Earth systems. Science Activities, 28(1), 19-22.

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67

Reproduced willi permission from The American Biology Teacher (Fcb./92). Copyright 1992 EARTH WOlOGY 79

by the National Association of Biology Teachers, 1 1250 Roger Bacon Dr. H 19, Rcslon, VA 22090.

Notes

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T • H • E

OHIO

UNIVERSITY

Primed on recylced paper

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